Life Is Strange After the Storm Episode 4 Time Trial
by WickDaLine
Summary: The moment of truth has arrived as the trial of the people of Arcadia Bay versus Max Caulfield begins. Meanwhile, Chloe and Rachel still struggle to clear Max's name and uncover the mystery behind the quantum terrorist group named Neo-Chrysalis. Now suspected to be the ones who framed Max Caulfield herself. The question is, who plotted the storm with Neo-Chrysalis themselves?
1. Statement

**Note: This is the fourth episode of a series. If you haven't read the first three, click on my profile to get started. Thank you.**

Previously on Life is Strange: After the Storm...

"Congratulations, Caulfield. You're a criminal," said Prescott.

"How could this happen? I did everything I could to acknowledge Sean's warning."

"You're interference with Rachel became a liability to Prescott. He couldn't take any chances having you and her getting funny ideas with your powers."

"Think about it, Chloe. The Prescotts have history with time travel. A Prescott form the 1800's becomes a time traveler, they discover storm rituals, and now they make an alliance with Chrysalis."

"There's no way on Earth I'm letting you risk our lives breaking into Prescott property just to find intel on this lead."

"I know what your going to say to me, Chloe. After everything we've been through, after everything I did to keep my promise six months in a row, I finally break it apart by bailing on you once again."

"You really did not have to do this, you know. I'm now left with the one person who shut me out for over a year over a person who shut me out for over decade."

 _"Case number 781 for Arcadia Bay Versus Max Caulfield. The defendant has been charged with Quantum Terrorism involving mass manslaughter of innocent citizens of Arcadia Bay, the destruction of Arcadia Bay, and the mass murder of soldiers from Chrysalis Corps during the Blackwell shooting. How does the defendant plead?"_

"I plead not guilty."

"Do you know why I was pissed at you before?"

"If I had to guess, Chloe, it would be one, I left you for a year. Two, I slept with Frank. Three, I almost got you and Max killed during that catastrophic chase scene between the three of us."

"You show up to me months after getting kidnapped into Jeffershit's pornography bunker and with superpowers like Max's. I also find a body that looks just like yours in the junkyard and you tell me that Mr. Jeffershit and his sugar sonny Nathan Prickscott let you go to fake your death and off to live the American dream. Somehow, I'm still having a hard time believing what you told me."

"Besides from Caulfield's and Amber's demeanor of their time manipulated powers and their suspected actions of quantum terrorist attacks, it would be unjust to go in and smoke two teenagers without any initial proof of their potential guilt under your jurisdiction."

"I had all the initial proof I received, Brown. Do not insult my jurisdiction to the contrary."

"It is no one but yourself insulting your own jurisdiction with unconfirmed proof being theoretical inquiries rather than factual. The government cannot tolerate any scrutiny that would falsely put two teenagers in the crosshairs under your regime as they wouldn't tolerate quantum terrorism alone in the state itself."

"Your Daughter and Max both tell me that they're had been a time before they reunited that Max had saved Chloe from the brink of death with the aid of Max's power. When Max first discovered she was able to rewind time, Chloe had been shot in the bathroom by Sean Prescott's late son Nathan Prescott. When that all happened, Max knew it was her job to make sure it didn't."

"Your telling us that my Step-Daughter's life was the key to saving the lives that were lost to that storm by jumping back into time to her date of death that never came?"

"As far as Max and Chloe are concerned, yes. There is nothing left for me to explain."

"It's a quantum terrorist group founded in the early two-thousands that was countering the Chrysalis security branch. Meaning they were funded with the same military hardware and technology Chrysalis has. They call themselves Neo-Chrysalis."

"Neo-Chrysalis? Like Neo-Nazi?"

"Neo-Chrysalis is known to be a deadlier terrorist organization than Al-Qaeda. Rumor has it, these terrorist have performed some kind of supernatural rituals that are capable of destroying civilization."

"Stop telling me how to talk, Ryan! You know what, they said they could neuter her powers right? I want them gone. I want them gone now!"

"Mrs. Caulfield, you are in no position to make demands like that!"

"Besides from the fact that my little girl is being accused of destroying a town by summoning a fucking tornado storm and now seeing her turn into a crazy super human, I will not withstand this inanity! I want her powers gone right fucking now!"

"Rachel, I know you're not that bad of a person as I've said you were. What I never asked you back at the estate was why him? You know, why Frank?"

"The more closer we got, the more we developed a thing for each other. And we did. I wanted to tell you sooner, Chloe, but I really didn't want you to get worked up over it if you weren't going to like what I would say. It pretty tenuous for me between me and you and me and him."

"Tenuous? You know, why did it take a thing for you and Frank him to him feel better? If he needed someone to bond with, why couldn't you just be friends or something?"

"I'm doing all this because I still care about you. You know that. I know I haven't been the best friend to you, but even though I failed to be your love life...I'll always love you the way Max loves you too."

"Turn around and face the wall with your hands above your head, ma'am," the guard ordered.

"The trial of the people of Arcadia Bay versus Max Caulfield is now in session," said a bailiff in the courtroom.

Prologue

Rachel

April 21st, 2013

5:33 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Blackwell Academy

1 Day Before Rachel's Disappearance...

I arrive over to Blackwell Academy and park my bike in the parking lot near the pool building where the Vortex Club party is being held. The party would not start for another half hour. So I was early. I was also supposed to meet Chloe in parking lot, but she hadn't arrived yet. I had gotten here first.

Once I parked the bike and got off, I saw Hayden and Dana holding arms with one another and walking down the parking lot towards me. I walked over to them to say hi.

"Hey, Rachel! Looking good girl," said Hayden. "How ya doing?"

"Right back at Hayden. How are you, Dana?"

"All the usual, Rachel," she replied. "Where's Chloe?"

"She's on her way. So, I'm just going to officially lay it out that two of you are thing now aren't you?"

"As usual, Rachel, you always think your entitled to ask the stupidest questions for being the Blackwell Princess. We're on and off is what we are."

"Dana, it's cool," assured Hayden. "No hard feelings, Rachel. Doesn't matter to me if you ask."

"Well it matter to me if she asks," muttered Dana. "It's a stupid question to ask a lady."

"Women," said Hayden before walking off with Dana.

When the on and off couple were out of sight, I could see Chloe's truck pulling over in the parking lot signifying her arrival. The truck is parked in a parking space and Chloe walks out to talk to me.

"What took you so long?" I ask her. "Did the cops figure our who we were?"

"No, you just beat me every time," she answers. "I anticipate it."

"Let's go hangout in the courtyard. The party doesn't start for another half hour."

When we enter the courtyard, we could see Mr. Jefferson talking to Nathan from a distance. They talk to each other like they're on to something. When they take notice of us, Nathan immediately walks away casually. Leaving us to speak with Jefferson.

"Hello there, Rachel," said Jefferson as we approach him. "Good to see you."

"Hi, Mr. Jefferson," I say back. "What were you and Nathan just talking about?"

"Oh, it's...it's nothing really. It's something between me and him. He really doesn't me to say to anyone else. How are you two?"

"All the usual. I believe you've already met my friend, Chloe? Chloe Price?"

"Yo," said Chloe.

"Right," said Jefferson. "You two have fun now. I have some business to attend to with Principal Wells."

Jefferson gets out of our sight leaving us to talk to ourselves.

"So was that your shit for brains who your supposed to be traveling the world with to live your dreams and get famous?" asked Chloe.

"Hey don't call him that, Chloe. Jefferson's a good man. He's my best teacher at Blackwell and I'm his best student at Blackwell. Of course he is."

"Your everyone's best student at Blackwell, Rachel. Your the Blackwell Beauty Queen. Like everyone says you are."

"Don't got to tell me twice, Chloe. People have been telling me that twice as much. Better yet, a hundred times as much. Even better yet, a thousand times as much. That's a fact."

"And I used to be the biggest loser at Blackwell before my expulsion. That's a fact."

"Quit calling yourself that, Chloe. Once day, we're going take on the world together ourselves and everybody will call us winners. You'll see."

"Yeah, we'll see."

"Hey, Chloe."

"What?"

I take hold of Chloe's hand and give her a vague smile.

"I love you."

Then Chloe smiles back at me vaguely. Still holding hands.

"I love you, too."

Chapter 1 Statement

Max

April 16th, 2014

8:56 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Arcadia Bay Courthouse

Present Day...

I sit there on the defense table next to Chloe and Crosby. Still wearing my prison coveralls and cuffed to the table. While there's a crowd of people sitting at the gallery behind me and the two DA agents I first met in Principle Wells' office sitting at the prosecution table next to us waiting for the judge to preside, I stare down at the table in shock. My mind still in turbulence after the crowd of abhorrence I just walked through before entering this courtroom. Like the walk of atonement in Game of Thrones.

"I assume you're entirely ready to do this, Mr. Crosby?" asked Chloe next to me.

"Listen, Chloe," he begins. "Don't get your hopes for actually winning this case. I'm not saying we won't, I'm saying that if we don't, don't do anything that will make thing worse."

Chloe turns her head towards me and tries to talk to me. She understood I had not spoken a word since I was cuffed to this table.

"Max, I know you don't look like you want to talk to me, but if you want to say at least one sentence before the judge arrives, do so now."

I snap out of it and speak to her three seconds later. Despite my speechlessness, I open my mouth to spit something out instead of nothing.

"All those people, Chloe. The people outside. The crowd I walked through before I entered. They were screaming, shouting, tampering, name-calling, and yelling at me like they wanted to see me dead. It's like they had families and friends who are dead because of me. Which I knew they did. I never thought it would come back to me again, but it has. After all these months, how can I forget how much innocent blood I spilled for you, Chloe? How? It's all a nightmare come fucking true. I don't what else to say, Chloe. I just don't."

Chloe touches my should before I almost break down.

"Max, stop it. Okay? The more you perpetuate yourself with what your proclaimed to be guilty of, the harder it'll be for you to comprehend the fact that it wasn't you for Christ sake."

"The fact, Chloe? Either way, it's only a theory. This trial can't have theories. It need proof. The real proof that can't fabricate my guilt or innocence. That's what it needs. So far, you and Rachel just couldn't have any now could you? And the trial is about to start in few minutes. How's that for timing?"

"Chloe is right, Max," said Crosby. "You can prolong your guilt conscience, but you can't prolong the public hatred. Assuming we can win this case, it just might make a little easier for you to cope. If not, it'll all on you, Max. It'll will be all on you."

"That's what I'm afraid of," I said.

"Psst, Max," said a voice from behind me. It was Warren sitting next to Kate in the front row of the gallery.

"Warren? Kate? Is that you?"

"Well no dur it's us. You knew we would be here."

"Oh, hi there, Waldo," said Chloe turning around to face my two closest classmates. "What's the word?"

"I just wanted to say, Max, that I...uh...that I'm sorry you have to go through this. We both do. Just can't imagine."

"You have no idea, Warren," I said. "Of course you couldn't imagine."

"Max, may I something?" asked Kate.

"Sure," I reply.

"I just wanted you to know that I've prayed for you all week since your arrest. You helped me escape from my demise, redeemed my hate for Victoria, and I will now lead with Victoria to strike against Chrysalis's oppressive power over Blackwell and Arcadia Bay. May the lord grant us liberty."

"I appreciate your return for sympathy, Kate. The lord shall guide us to the path of liberation."

I take notice of other familiar faces in crowd. Such as Victoria, Joyce and David, even my parents especially. Surprisingly enough, I even see Frank in the crowd too. Glad he was able to have the sentiments to come for me. Even if I did just click the trigger of an unloaded gun on him, he just so managed to grant me forgiveness thanks to my power.

On the other side of the gallery, I see the Prescott family seated behind where the DA is seated. I see Sean Prescott get off his seat to have few words with Karen Carter. The fem prosecutor sitting next to her partner Burke. Whatever Sean was about to say to Karen, I knew it would be cold. That's what my heart and mind told me.

"Hear me out for just a second, Karen," said Sean. "Make sure this girl goes away for a very long time and make sure she suffers for a very long time. You think you can do that?"

"It shouldn't be too difficult considering the trouble she's cost for this town," said Karen with a mischievous smile. "You should look outside. See how the people out there feel."

"I already have. It's good to see some people like to stay on my side at least. Yourself included. We'll get this town back on it's feet in no time."

Mr. Prescott walks his way over to our table. His presence in this room just makes me sick to even look at him. In my eyes, he was no more than a power hungry madman who wanted nothing more than my blood spilled his soil. Me and Chloe give him the stink eyes when he approaches to us.

"What do we have here, Derrick?" asked Prescott menacingly. "Nothing more but a pair of rug rats is what you've brought. A time terrorist dressed in tan and gray and her punk-ass cheerleader. I can't wait to see the three of you fail so miserably at this trial."

"You can put a muzzle on that puppy, Sean," said Crosby defending us. "Let me do my job and don't tell me how to handle it. Is that to hard for you to cope with?"

"And what about you, missy?" asked Prescott now talking to Chloe. "What do you have to say yourself? Considering that little chase scene of yours you got yourself into with this little hippy of yours."

"You can go to hell is what I have to say," snapped Chloe.

"Excuse me?"

"Both of you, save it for after session," intervened Crosby. "Will you?"

"I won't forget what you said, missy," snarled Prescott. "I'll remember it long enough to see you suffer as your friend has suffered."

"I have a name. It is Chloe fucking Price. And that's what you'll call me from now on."

"Enough, both you!" snapped Crosby. "Sean, she's my responsibility and the last thing I want is to fuck it up before it even begins. And you, this is exactly what making things worse is. So I would shut up and drop it. before you make me look bad. Just remember what David told you, Chloe. Otherwise, he will regret letting you do this. End of story."

When Prescott walked away from our table, his daughter Kristine walked by to chat. Kristine was Nathan's older sister who was a woman that appeared to be in her early twenties. About fives years older than Nathan. The family including Nathan himself before his death called her Kris for short. I had not seen Kris since her brother's funeral six months ago. A week after the storm hit. She had stood by our table to say hi.

"Once an asshole, always an asshole isn't he," she said insulting her own Father.

"Kris, I wasn't expecting you to stop by," said Crosby.

"Dad made me and Mom come over here. Of course we'd be over here."

"It's Kristine, right?" I ask. "Your Nathan's sister. I never gave you my condolences for brother. He was a good kid who deserved better. That's all I have to say."

"Don't mention it, Max," replied Kristine. "And please, call me Kris if you like."

"You must have a better reason for dropping by than just to say hi, Kris," admitted Crosby. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to say to the three of you; I know my Dad has been a real pain in the ass lately, but whatever you do, don't do anything the extremely push his buttons during this trial. And I mean extremely push his buttons. It will only make things worse on him. Just don't do it just for him. Do it for what's left of my family. That's the most simplest thing I could ask for you to do."

"You're not asking anything different than what Crosby asked us to do Kris," I reply. "We can cooperate. You can count on that."

"Good. I also wanted to say for what it's worth...good luck. You're gonna need it."

When Kris walked back to her seat, I talk to Chloe again about what I said when finally breaking my silence.

"Chloe, about what I said-

"Max, just don't alright?"

"It's not just that, Chloe. It's about what Mr. Prescott. Don't even think about what he said. He's a complete dick. I'm not saying to take his insults seriously, just at least take his warnings seriously. Just like Kris just talked about."

"You alone somehow couldn't take his warning seriously before you ended up in this situation. And now your asking me to take it seriously."

"I'm not the only person to blame, Chloe. All that matters now is that we get this case over with assuming we'll win and finish this. And try our extra hardest not to fuck this up. Like Crosby had just told you."

"All rise!" the bailiff called out.

The trial was now getting started. Everyone in the courtroom did what they were asked including me and we all stood up for the court.

"This court has now come to order. The honorable Judge Gareth presiding."

Before we all sat down, Judge Gareth had now entered the court and sat on his tall desk with his gable. Ready to begin the trial. The judge had been the same middle aged man I spoke to on the small screen during my arraignment back in prison and was now judging for my case.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, before we begin, I would like everyone to comprehend this only warning," said Judge Gareth. "There will be no talks of any supernormal myths or theories that would potentially relate to quantum terrorism or such. If there is, I'll be sure to rectify anyone who speaks as such to regulate my warning. Ms. Carter, does the prosecution have an opening statement?"

"Certainly, your honor," said Karen ready to give out her speech to the jury.

The female prosecutor walked out of her seat from the table she sat with Burke and walked up to the jury give out her statement. This was where the excitement begins.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury," she began. "Six months ago, I had lost my one and only good daughter of mine to the most unimaginable tragic disaster that struck Arcadia Bay. My daughter was only seventeen when she died and I felt so devastated, so remorseful, that I never got to see her grow up to be the one person she was growing up to be. Eventually, I managed to move forward with my life understanding that I had other people to care about in my life who helped me cope with my loss. Now the idea of having the power to change the past to prevent the death of the one you loved just may sound like a fair idea at first, but what if you're wrong? What if this power makes you believe it'll bring you hope and harmony when all that it would really bring you is nothing more than ruin and chaos as it did for the defendant? If anyone had this power, would we use it to rewrite history preventing 9/11, the JFK assassination, the bombings of Pearl Harbor only to set up a paradox of mayhem and destruction?! If the answer is no, then what would a teenager like Max Caulfield need it for?"

The woman's words get louder when she get to that part of her statement. Then she walks her way over to our table to say even more colder words in front us while the jury's ears are wide open.

"Do not get me wrong, this girl is no hero cheating death and despair. She's nothing but a self-centered and spoiled human being who can't learn to live a life of 'oh wells' as opposed to a life of 'what ifs'. All the mass destruction she caused for so many innocents and for what? To save the love of her life from dying? Caulfield's selfish affection is the reason our families and friends aren't living today. You all know who you are and you all know it is your duty to lay down the quantum crisis that terrorizes Arcadia Bay. Even if it means to prevent the apocalypse and the disposal of the defendant's accursed powers. That, you shall do. That is all your honor."

Karen walks back up to her and sits tight next to her partner. What can I expect for a prosecutor to say? As cold as her words may have sounded, it was justifiable in my prosecution. On behalf of that perspective that is.

"She's good," complimented Chloe. "Enough said."

"Mr. Crosby, does your defense have an opening statement," asked the Judge.

"As promised your honor," replied Crosby.

Now I had to hear what my Doc Brown had to say in my defense. If you get what I mean. It was now Crosby's turn to walk up to the jury and give out his statement. That he did. Assuming he worked his ass off hard enough to speak out a strong and justifiable statement to the jury. That it was.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury," he began. "Imagine yourself as a little girl in a small town with a special friend. In the beginning, the special friend brings you nothing more but joy and happiness that you'll carry on from childhood to this day. But then one day something terrible occurs to this friend. She looses a family member who she so dearly loved just as well as yourself and when she needed you the most, you move away abandoning her for five years without calling, sending her postcards, anything. And after all those years of abandonment, just when you finally try and come back to her, she's no more. Then you deeply regret ever leaving her. Wishing you had done something sooner. That is where the defendant comes in play. And that is one of many reasons the defendant was given her power to prevent all of that from happening and so she could stay true to her friend again for the rest of a lifetime."

I begin to see where Crosby is going with his statement, but it would take a little more than referencing the bathroom situation between Chloe and Nathan or such to convince this jury to develop their thoughts on my defense. I just knew it would.

"I stand before you good people of the jury to say that there is much more to this trial than just quantum terrorism. It is about the reason people in the past with Max Caulfield's power fail to make others see what no else sees and why they should've been convicted from the very beginning. Meanwhile, we all know this town needs help. It needs it now. More than ever. Not tomorrow, not next week, not when the day arrives when the corruption that Sean Prescott laid waste to Arcadia Bay with him and his family's unlimited power to own and control our culture, our economy, and our welfare. We need it now! Because this town has been sick. As if the storm didn't condemn this town bad enough, the Chrysalis forces are not making it better to protect us from such terror. What we do need for such protection is men and women who are bold enough to take the fight for themselves. The kind of people who risk their lives so we can all grow old together with our friends and family year after year. The ones that our self-esteemed District Attorney here is so desperately attempting to conquer, Arcadia Bay needs these people. We need...heroes."

Crosby's speech to the jury is so inspiring to me, Chloe, and the people of Arcadia, the crowd in gallery give a round of applause to him and even whistle and cheer across the courtroom. He also waves is hand at the crowd and smiles in respects to his inspirational statement. But wasn't finished yet.

"Order!" the Judge called out. Silencing the crowd and slamming his gable on the desk.

"The help they offer and the hope they provide," continued Crosby. "Max Caulfield wanted to save a life. Her special friend's life at that. But she took it too personally. She had saved her friend's life once too many times up to point where she thought her power ignited her perdition. Which was a tornado storm we all believe is being held accountable for herself. In the end, the lives of countless families and friends died as a result. All for the one individual who meant everything to her. Now, I alone would not condone such terrorism anymore than you wouldn't, but here's the thing. Max is not a common terrorist. She isn't malevolent and vile. Max Caulfield is great kid. She just could incorporate what was more at stake to her than anything else. And she doesn't need punishment for that. She need help. Our help. That's the kind of girl Max Caulfield is. And now you must determine the kind of jury you shall be. That is all your honor."

 **Note: So what jury would you be if you were to be part of it in Max's case? Regardless, I'm posting this for those following this story as your Christmas present in regards to all your support. And as the best Christmas gift for a good friend of mine on this channel named Xemtlenc. Merry Christmas to you all and to all...a hella good night! Not to mention a Happy Hella New Year!**

 **Until next time, have yourselves a Merry Hella Christmas and stay Golden!**


	2. Witnesses Part 1

Chapter 2 Witnesses Part 1

Max

April 16th, 2014

9:10 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Arcadia Bay Courthouse

The first witness to take the stand was my Dad. I guess it was going to be my parents being the first two witnesses to testify in court. And they were. Crosby was the one to question my first witness.

"Mr. Caulfield, it's no secret you are wife Vanessa have raised Max since birth," began Crosby. "It's also known your daughter was first raised in Arcadia Bay and eventually grew up with her friend Chloe. How would you describe their relationship from childhood until now?"

"Well, I could say when the two of them were just kids, they were best friends with each other," my Dad replied. "They treated each other like best friends, played with each other like best friends, even Chloe herself started to feel like family to me the closer they got. As for Max, she even started to feel like family to Chloe's parents. Nowadays, the two of are a thing together. I've always imagined them to be little more than just friends even when they were younger."

"Were there ever times when Max would begin to feel something out of the ordinary? Not just because of her powers, but for instance, have you or your wife ever take notice of anything strange about Max at all over the years?"

"The answer, Mr. Crosby, is no. When our family moved from Arcadia Bay to Seattle, Max did get a little remorseful that she wouldn't be able to see Chloe again at first, but over the years, she did manage to move on with her life without her and spent the next five years actually liking to live in Seattle. Of course, it wasn't until we sent Max back to Arcadia when she reunited with Chloe. And after all that, never did me and my wife evidentially find anything supernormal about our daughter at all. It's even harder for me and wife to live through what Max is living through when we don't know about this sooner. That's all I can answer."

"Let me ask you this, Mr. Caulfield. Do you still love your daughter no matter what? Even if she's being called a terrorist? Even despite the deceit she's being charged for?"

"If you ask me, as insulting as calling my daughter a terrorist may sound, there has never been anything stopping me from loving Max once in a lifetime. Shorter answer, yes. I would still love no matter what. Even with her strange powers, she's still a normal human being to me."

It was my Mom's turn to take the stand and Karen's turn to question my next witness. My Mom's testimony was a little more cynic than my Dad's, but was tolerable enough for the Judge, Jury, and rest of the court.

"Mrs. Caulfield," Karen began. "Your husband had just mentioned that neither you or him took any suspicion for any supernormal behavior about your daughter until recently. We hear that you and your husband first witnessed Max's power at the Chrysalis Corporation near a test chamber. Exactly how did the two of you react when you first took visual?"

My Mother scoffed.

"If you'd like the answer to that question," my Mom began. "I didn't even know how to react to my daughter's powers. It was crazy. It was as if someone or rather something turned Max into Super Girl or something. She went from being such a sweet and innocent little girl to some super human capable of rewinding time, freezing obstacles, blasting objects, dodging bullets, the list goes on and on. It's no wonder Max was able to mow her way down a bunch of hired guns from Chrysalis. That is not the daughter I raised."

"That's besides the question, Mrs. Caulfield. You did say that what you saw was though. Perhaps the word I'm looking for according to your reaction would be speechless?"

"Speechless?! You bet it was speechless! I don't know what more to say. I've never been so disgraced in Max my whole life since I gave birth to her. But like Ryan had said on this stand, even though Max is being held responsible for the terrors of a tornado storm, I will always love her no matter what the stakes. That's all I have left to say."

The next person to testify was David. At least this time he'll try and speak for me rather than against me like had in the past. I only wondered if him and Joyce now know what I had to go through for Chloe's survival.

In that case, I also wondered if he was now uptight at me for keeping my thing with my powers a secret between me and his Step-Daughter. As well as dragging her down with my incident I maintained three days ago. Even worse, Rachel's fugitive record. Crosby was the first question David by the stand.

"Mr. Madsen," Crosby began. "Your the Step-Father of Max's love interest Chloe Price. Who had Fathered Chloe and married her Mother Joyce shortly of Chloe's real Father William. You're also a veteran who served in Afghanistan before retiring at the age of forty. It is said that you and your Step-Daughter have a history of bad relationship together. It's also mentioned that your first encounters with Max herself weren't pleasant ones. Can you tell us what happened during those first scenarios between you and the defendant?"

Oh, boy. Does Crosby really need to ask him that?

"As far as my memory goes," David began. "I believe my first encounter with Max was when she walked out of a restroom at Blackwell after a fire alarm went off that she herself set off. Then moments later, she sticks her nose into a conversation I had with another student who she claimed I had been stalking and bulling with. When I arrived home, I discover Max inside Chloe's bedroom who had been in the room with Chloe. I also find pot in the room who I suspected my Step-Daughter had been doing until Max intervened saying it was hers. Which it wasn't/ A couple days later, she exposes me of stalking a student at Blackwell with the files I had on the student in the garage. Prompting my wife to make me leave the house for some time. Rest assured, I eventually forgave Max for all of that considering what she and Chloe did to expose Jefferson for Rachel Amber's presumed homicide. With that said, I was impressed of the two of them and was honored Max became a friend to Chloe. Even before I was Chloe's dad."

"What if I asked you this, Mr. Madsen? Did you ever wonder that day why Max had set off the fire alarm at Blackwell?

"Why ask?"

"What if she set off the fire alarm to save a life at Blackwell in that very restroom when you couldn't?"

"What are you saying? The life I know Max saved when I couldn't was Kate Marsh's when she went up on the room for her attempted suicide."

"What if that wasn't the only life she saved at Blackwell? What if it was your Step-Daughter's life she saved the day before using that fire alarm? Sparing you and your wife Joyce another tragedy like William's?"

I knew exactly what Crosby had been referring to. The question still remained to me, had Crosby told Joyce and David everything that really happened between me and Chloe from that moment forward? If so, if might make him a more cooperative witness. If not, it would be a little more difficult for him. I just had to hear out his response to find out.

"I'm not even sure how to answer to that question. You're asking me something I've never witnessed."

"As Max's Defense Attorney, Mr. Madsen, I have duly noted her actions to understand it is something she had witnessed alone and will be stated as fact. May ask you again, what if Max did indeed save Chloe's life in that bathroom?"

"Objection your honor," said Karen. "He's asking something the witness hadn't witnessed."

"I will rephrase, your honor," said Crosby. "I ask witness how he would feel or react. Not what he saw."

"Overruled," the Judge replied.

"If you ask me, sir," began David. "Let's just say I've spent nearly six years of life dealing with Chloe. I do indeed have history of quarrels between me and her over the years and I alone would anything to protect her just to show how much I care about her. And I did. Yet she constantly denied me whatever the stakes were. If it were truly Max who saved Chloe's life once, whatever happened in that bathroom so to speak, I would be impeccably grateful she was there for her when I wasn't. Just like she did with Kate."

I noticed neither Crosby or David mentioned Nathan being a part of that scene. Maybe it was Mr. Prickscott who warned Crosby to never bring up his Son at this trial to begin with. But then again, did Crosby even use Nathan's name if he had told Chloe's parents? No matter what he told them, it Karen's turn to question David.

"Before I ask you anything, Mr. Madsen, I would like to say it's honor speaking with a veteran from Afghanistan. My Great Grandfather served in World War I."

"Charmed," replied David to Karen.

"It would appear Max had saved two lives at Blackwell. Both Chloe's and Kate's. The key purpose of this trial is to determine the power of Max Caulfield to either liable or reliable. According to evidence, there is no doubt Caulfield herself prompted her powers to save both the lives of your Step-Daughter's and Kate Marsh's. What if I told you Max had saved Chloe's life many other times after the incident with the fire alarm?"

"What do you mean many times after?"

"According to evidence found on Chrysalis's Time Broker, it would appear that in the same week, Chloe had inadvertently almost got herself killed every following day or so. Which Max constantly took advantage of preventing whenever it occurred. Sounds to me your completely unaware of these things. If I may digress on the question, I could at least say that these events involving Max differentiating time to prevent every possible death of Chloe may have resulted in the event of the twister storm that hit this town. The nature of the defendant's power abusing time and space building up to the effect of the storm so to speak. The potential reason why Chloe Price is still inhaling air. What if that were true? Would you have called her a good or bad person for sacrificing hundreds to save your only Step-Daughter with such deception?"

Isn't this great? First Crosby asks David about Chloe's fight for her life in the bathroom and now Karen asks him about Chloe fighting for her life the rest of that week forward. As if these lawyers haven't put enough pressure on him already. At least the Prosecutor hadn't referred to those other scenarios saving Chloe by location or cause. From the bathroom to the train to Jefferson and so forth. She obviously wouldn't refer to Chloe's senile state in the alternate time stream where William lived and most undeniably, neither would the Time Broker. I only wonder how Chloe herself must feel about David being question about all this. Frankly, I'm sure she would feel the same as I do.

"Ma'am, as much as I am completely unaware of these things, it's just as ridiculous too. I have no problem with Max saving Chloe's life. What I do have problem with is that since I am completely unaware of these things, it turns out the two of them have been keeping secrets from me and Chloe most certainly knows how I feel about secrets."

"That's a little besides the question, Mr. Madsen. My question to you is that would you have done same Max had six months ago to keep her friend alive? Your only Step-Daughter alive at that."

"I have no comment, Ma'am. If only I understood Max's thing with her powers better, I would've known the answer to that question. With respect your honor, I have nothing else to say under oath."

The Judge dismissed David off the stand and it was now Joyce's turn to take it. Crosby was the one to question her when she took it. I wonder what Crosby had to ask Joyce now that he had already questioned David how he would feel for me saving Chloe.

"Mrs. Madsen, you had known both Max and Chloe for most of your life," he began. "More than your current husband David had. I can relate to how you've known them since their childhood before your late husband William had passed. Can you describe to us how their relationship has developed until now?"

"The best way I can describe it is very fond and affectionate," replied Joyce. "When they were nothing more but little brats running around the house, William used to say that one day they'll get together and become loving couple. That's exactly what they are today. Even now as they've grown into the nice young women they are now, they're nothing more but two peas in a pod."

"David has told us that he would be impeccably grateful for Max saving Chloe's life with her power. I will say as matter of fact that Max indeed did save your Daughter's life in that bathroom when David couldn't. Would you have reacted the same as David would?"

"Reacted the same? You damn right I would've reacted the same. In the past, there were times when Chloe would take risk without precaution. David and I always warned her not to anything illegal such as drugs and she constantly defy us. If your speaking of a scenario that almost got Chloe killed and we didn't know about it, I would be so much more grateful than I've ever been for Max being there to save my little girl's life when David couldn't."

"As you can tell ladies and gentlemen of the jury," Crosby said turning back to the jury. "Max is not the only person to care about Chloe. The Defendant's affection interest has family that care's about her, as well. As far as the parents of Chloe Price are concerned, they are in Max's debt for their Daughter's life. Despite the deception of hundreds of lives, Max Caulfield had just as much spared Mr. and Mrs. Madsen the tragedy as she had for herself. Allow me to set that as an example of great power granting someone the opportunity to grow old and live happily together. Even though we all don't receive that opportunity, there are always second chances that haven't been missed. Always."

 **Note: Just want you all to know everyone that I've been a little busy enjoy my Christmas gifts these past few days before I could post this chapter. The next chapter will feature more witnesses to come. Which will include other people Max are close to. You should know who they are.**

 **Until next time, stay golden!**


	3. Witnesses Part 2

Chapter 3 Witnesses Part 2

Max

April 14th, 2014

9:26 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Arcadia Bay Courthouse

My next witness was Warren. My high school dork at Blackwell. I wondered what he had to say about me on the stand if it were anything special. Maybe he won't have to mention anything about me going ape with him or what not. Regardless, Karen was the one to question him by the stand.

"Mr. Graham, you're one of Ms. Caulfield's closest friends at Blackwell," she began. "And one of Blackwell's honor students marked with a 4.0 GPA. Exactly how close are you with Max as a friend?"

"Well when Max first came to Blackwell and started her senior year, I ended up having a crush on her at first," answered Warren. "There were times when I would ask her out someplace like the drive-in or whatever, but she would always turn me down and say that she would rather keep it professional and stick to being just friends. She did tell me once that her and Chloe were already in a relationship and how they knew each other since they were little kids. I understood how much Chloe meant to Max and I honored that."

"If you're one of Max's friends at school, did she ever bring up her powers to you at all? By perhaps showing you her powers just mentioning them to you? Or have you just recently known about this?"

"Honestly Ma'am, neither me or anyone else at Blackwell have known about it until now. Chloe on the other hand appears to be only person who was ever told about it considering how she did tell me just recently it was kept between her and Max. So no, Max didn't tell me about it before. Nor did she tell Kate or Brooke or any other classmate she has at Blackwell."

Next witness was Kate. Being questioned by Mr. Crosby. This should be good. I knew exactly what she was going to asked on the stand that just might help me win this case. It just might.

"Ms. Marsh, your another Blackwell student closest to Ms. Caulfield herself," said Crosby by the stand. "Mr. Graham has informed us all that none of Max's classmates including yourself have never been informed or presented of her power. I also understand that Max herself once saved your life from an act of suicide on Blackwell grounds. First and foremost, how close are the two of you as friends exactly?"

"Me and Max have been close friends since we started our senior at Blackwell," replied Kate. "Since then, she's been the most kindest and supportive person to me I've ever met."

"If you don't mind me asking, Ms. Marsh, what happened that day? The day you almost ended your life until Max intervened? What made you lose it to point where wanted to act as such?"

I didn't want Crosby to put any pressure on Kate about the most scarring moment of her life, but maybe it was necessary. Maybe she'd understand. She's had six months to pull herself together anyhow.

"Honestly, sir, I don't what to say," she replied taking a breath. "It's complicated if you ask me. I - I'm sure if it's worth talking about really."

"You had described the defendant as the most kindest and supportive person you've ever met. Which must be all the more reason she was the first to come up on that roof with you to start with. Are they're any details about her supportiveness you like to share if that's not too complicated?"

"Well, there was a time when I used be picked on a lot sometime during the beginning of my senior year and Max was always doing her best to look after me. And she did. For instance, when David harassed me at Blackwell for whatever reason, Max actually stepped up to him and saved me the trouble. When I told Max about my incident at a Vortex Club party the week before, she told me to just wait it out until someone found out who was really responsible. Also when I tried to call her about things getting worse, she didn't answer. Because she had someone else she cared about who had a problem too. That who was Chloe of course."

"What if I asked you this? How do you think Max was the first to come up on that roof with you? Do you think she just came up there naturally? Or do you think she took the advantage of her powers to do so?"

"What are you saying?"

"If I must clarify, Max herself once explained to me before that she was able to freeze time during that incident in order to walk up to that roof before you could fall off. Say if that were true. Which it is. Would you be grateful of her power taking the initiative of saving your life?"

"I'm only grateful that Max ever talked my way out of killing myself at all. Even though no else she knew at Blackwell had known about her powers at the time, I suppose I would be grateful for both her power and her alone for sparing my life. If you're saying is true that is."

"The power to save someone from suicide, ladies and gentlemen of the jury," said Crosby turning back to the jury. "It would turn out that defendant hadn't relied her power too much on Chloe Price after all. In fact, the prevention of Ms. Marsh's suicide would likely make Max Caulfield a more selfless person than we all believe her to be."

Crosby then turn over to the District Attorney's side and stared at Karen.

"So much for spoiled human being," muttered Crosby to my prosecutor.

Karen shook her head to herself before my Defense Attorney walked his way back to my table.

Next witness was Victoria. How nice of her be here for me. I was only surprised no arrested her yet for those protest she started at Blackwell. If she had, Kate would've been taken in too. As well as any other student they rallied to strike against Chrysalis. Like every other witness I've had speak for me, I wonder what my high school rival had to say for herself. Of course, it was Karen to be the one to question Victoria.

"Ms. Chase, you're known to be one of Blackwell's high honor role students marked with a 3.9 GPA," began Karen. "It is said that you and the defendant have had a vying history together throughout the school year. Is there anything about Max Caulfield that you despise about her the most?"

"It's not that I despise her despise her," she replied. "It's just that she can be a nosey little selfie whore sometimes."

The crowd in the gallery laughed at Victoria's insult. How was that for my support. She takes the stand and the first thing she says is selfie whore out loud in front of the whole court. How charming of her.

"Let's keep the content at a minimum, Ms. Chase," warned Karen. "There have been reports of you taking it upon yourself rallying a majority of Blackwell students in a protest against Chrysalis control. It sounds to me that only is it to sympathize Max Caulfield's persecution, but Rachel Amber's fugitive record with Chrysalis as well. Why the sympathy for both criminals?"

"First of all, Max's criminal record or whatnot somehow resulted in the school shooting at Blackwell which no one could tolerate. And now Blackwell has to be treated like sheep in a pen with Chrysalis being our Shepard to guide us. Just like the rest of Arcadia Bay. All because of both Max and Rachel's declaration of becoming a so-called quantum terrorist or whatever. That is why Blackwell and Arcadia acts against the Chrysalis and Prescott regime."

"Were there ever any times when Max would try and be nice person to you despite your friction between you and her?"

"Well, there was a really embarrassing time of mine when Samuel's paint bucket accidentally dropped on me and splatter paint all over me and Max's surprisingly came over to me and tried to comfort me. Even though I hadn't been the nicest person to her, I accepted her kindness just like that."

"Do you ever suspect Max for doing anything supernaturally at any point? With her time manipulating powers or so?"

"Like everyone else has said, Ma'am. No one at Blackwell has ever been informed or witness of Max's time powers or whatever. My gut tells me her punk-ass girlfriend Chloe Price was the first and only person who ever got to know about her powers from the get-go."

Next witness was Frank. Dressed more like a professional than like a thug. Hopefully he'll mention some good things about me as opposed to the gun thing in the junkyard when he had a blade on Chloe. Crosby walked up to the stand to question him.

"Mr. Bowers, you're known to Max Caulfield to be a sort of client to Chloe Price. As well as a former romantic interest to Rachel Amber. When exactly was your meeting with the defendant herself?"

"Pfft. Do I have to say it, sir? Is it really worth asking?"

"You have to answer whatever I ask you, Mr. Bowers. Or I will treat you as hostile."

"Where do I begin your honor? Let's just say my first meeting with Max Hipsterfield was a rather unpleasant and awkward one. I first discovered Max when her and Chloe were shooting bottles in the junkyard when I went and asked where was my money I needed to pay off Chloe's debt. Next thing I know, Max has a gun in her hand and has me in her sights."

The crowd behind me murmurs a little bit about what Frank just mentioned. As if it were worth mentioning to begin with. Hell, Frank was under oath for everything he was asked anyway. It's not like he had a choice.

"Is there anything that justifies her aiming the gun at you for whatever reason?"

"Chloe threw a fit at me for wearing Rachel's bracelet and I pulled my switchblade at her so she would back off. When Max had the gun on me, it was good thing gun was unloaded because the trigger clicked when she pulled it. But you know what, I can't blame her. I was the one who threatened her girlfriend and she only acted in the defense. There goes your answer."

"Would there be anything more positive you would like to say about Ms. Caulfield?"

"Well there's at least one thing positive I could say about her. Her and Chloe were once on a quest to find Rachel when she was still missing. They wanted my help. But after that incident in the junkyard, I rejected it."

"Why would they want to come to you in order to find Ms. Amber?"

"They knew how much I cared about Rachel and tried to show some sympathy for that. And they did. In return, I offered Max my forgiveness and gave the two of them what the needed to find Rach. And no I did not partake any visual of Max's X-Men powers or time powers or whatever you call 'em. If that's what was going to be your next question, sir. I most certainly didn't."

Next witness was none other than Sean Prickscott himself. Just who I needed. Me and Chloe concern ourselves about he'll be questioned and what he'll say on the stand the second he's called up to it. Daddy's boy was one good person. His Father however is a complete schmuck of a politician. I was only more concerned how Chloe would react to whatever Sean had to say than how I'd react. It was Karen's turn to walk up to stand this time.

"Mr. Prescott, your family is known to have an infamous legacy that has lasted for generations. It's also believed that the family's reputation has a history of being overpowering to many places across the country. But I digress. We all know that the main idea of this trial is to determine the cause and effect of destroying this great town if Max Caulfield is true eye of the storm or not. Can you tell this court what made you suspect this girl of contravening such terror?"

"All that I can really is that I believed this was all just some natural disaster no saw coming at first. It wasn't until Chrysalis, however, when they discovered Caulfield had been wielding time around in Arcadia and suspected it themselves that she would've been the cause of it all. When I first acknowledged it, I was disgraced. Six-hundred good people of Arcadia Bay slaughtered by the hands of a sweet and innocent looking teenage hipster. I kept scratching my head and banging my head against the wall asking myself why? Just how could she do it? Why her? Why now? A more convoluted question would be how her and how now. The potential inhabitants of supernatural quantum breaking powers. That's how."

"And what about when you to act to defend Arcadia from a quantum terrorist? When you had sent in Chrysalis forces to take action and apprehend or eliminate the defendant?"

"When I knew something had to be done about it, I knew I couldn't tolerate any longer. As much as it's too cold for me to admit, she had to be done away with. One way or another."

"Precisely how can you justify Chrysalis soldiers storming into the campus of Blackwell in order to adapt to the problem? Do you actually believing on your own terms that it was justice? It turns out that half the community of Blackwell and the population of Arcadia don't see it the way you do."

"Caulfield may look so sweet and innocent of the outside, but dangerous and monstrous on inside. This power she obtains is more dangerous than people can interpret. You guarantee it was justice. She only has herself to blame for what happened. The job had to be done by any means necessary."

"How exactly can you relate to the gesture of by any means necessary? How dangerous can you interpret her powers remotely?"

"She slaughters six-hundred innocents in this town and mows down forty-five soldiers! You hear that?! Forty five! That how remotely dangerous this girl is! How can anyone be so blind that I'm doing this town a solid!"

"Objection!" shouted Chloe over to the judge.

"You are in no position to that, Ms. Price," responded Judge Gareth.

"You know what, this bullshit! This court is trying to tell everyone how much of a genocidal lunatic Max is! I won't take any shit from Mr. Prickscott-"

"Chloe!" I interupt.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Prescott. Whatever. I won't take any shit from Mr. Prescott if I'm going to be politically insulted for such a really screwed up reason!"

"Mr. Crosby, please control your client or I will hold all of you in contempt of court!" warned the Judge.

"Oh, piss off! I'm standing up for me and I'm standing up for Max! We deserve respect!"

"Chloe, shut up! Now!" roared Crosby.

"Fine!" muttered Chloe.

"Objection withdrawn your honor," said Crosby.

"I want the jury to disregard what Ms. Price has said," said Judge Gareth. "Let us resume session."

 **Note: So did any of you see Chloe's reaction to Mr. Prickscott's insults or didn't you? I want to wish everybody a Happy New Year and make writing more a little every day as my 2017 New Year's resolution. What your New Year's resolution for 2017?**

 **Until next time, stay golden.**


	4. Drinking Game

Chapter 4 Part 1 The Man With the Foreign Accent

Max

April 16th, 2014

9:43 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Arcadia Bay Courthouse

The next witness on the list was my Psychiatrist I see every month or two, Dr. Thomas. Whatever he had to say on the stand, it had better been good. Better than what Sean had to say about me. Crosby was the one to question him by the stand. The look on Dr. Thomas's face, however, was nervous looking for some reason. Didn't know why.

"Dr. Thomas, your Ms. Caulfield's Psychiatrist in Arcadia Bay," said Crosby. "Over the months, you've learned she had been experiencing symptoms of nose bleeds, headaches, insomnia, paranoia, etc. According to chronon chemistry, we believe these symptoms to be the side effects of the defendant's power. My first question to you, Dr. Thomas, can you believe the same?"

"I...I - I don't know, sir," jittered Dr. Thomas. "I...I'm not sure what you would be talking about really."

"Dr. Thomas, please remember that you are under oath as you speak. I'll ask you again, do you believe what we believe about Max's condition according to chronon chemistry?"

"Seriously, sir, I really don't know. Okay?! I really don't think I should talk about it."

"Dr. Thomas, look at me. If there's a really good reason why you can't tell us, our ears are wide open."

"I'm sorry sir, but I really don't think I should say anything after what those animals did to me last night!"

"Objection your honor," Karen called out. "Mr. Crosby is leading the witness."

Your honor, please," begged Dr. Thomas. "Treat me as adverse if you will, but please, I can't let anyone else hear what I have to say."

"Everyone clear the gallery," the judge shouted.

The crowd behind me cleared the courtroom and made their way to the front exit. Leaving me, Chloe, Crosby, Karen and Burke, and Judge Gareth to hear what my adverse witness had to say. The question was, what was wrong with Dr. Thomas? And why had he been acting so strange and too hostile to cooperate with Crosby?

"Alright, Dr. Thomas," continued Crosby. "Now that everyone's out of the room, start talking. We'll be the only ones listening."

"Okay, here it goes," gulped Dr. Thomas. "There were these people, thugs, mercenaries, whatever you call them who stormed into my house and started questioning me about my treatment for Max at gunpoint."

"And who did these mercenaries belong to exactly?"

"I don't know, but they were lead by someone. This maniac who interrogated me with a gun in my face. Some man with a foreign accent and scar on his face who threatened to kill me and my family if I didn't start talking."

"What this man want from you? And why would he harm you or your family if you didn't spit out what he wanted?"

"He wanted to know what I knew about Max Caulfield and why I had been treating her. He also mentioned something about her being a threat to their plan or whatever. Wasn't sure what it was, but they mentioned something about it being the end of time coming soon. I'm sorry your honor, but I can't say anymore. Or else they'll find me and kill me. I'm sorry."

Chapter 4 Part 2 Drinking Game

Rachel

April 21st, 2013

6:34 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Blackwell Academy

 **Strobe (club edit) - Deadmau5**

The Vortex Club party had started over half an hour ago and it was time me and Chloe enjoyed ourselves. The party was being held in the school gymnasium where the pool was located. When we were allowed entry, we could hear Deadmau5 music being played on the DJ. We also catch sight of students joyfully laughing and having fun together as well as students swimming in the pool playing with foam noodles and performing canon balls when jumping into the water. There were also Vortex symbols being lit up around the festivities with sound of DJ music tuning up the place.

Chloe and I first stopped at a refreshment stand at party where soda was being sold. I figured the first thing me and her could do is play a little drinking game at the stand.

"Yo, Chloe," I say to her. "What do you say we have a little drinking game of ours?"

"A drinking game?" she questioned. "What kind of drinking game?"

"Rules are simple. You take a shot, I take a shot. Hesitate, game over."

"Sounds easy enough. Then again, sounds like your trying to beat me at something again. Aren't you?"

"Could be. We'll just have to see who's the real Blackwell All-Star and who's the real Blackwell loser."

"Oh shut up, Rachel. I'm already expelled. Of course I'm the Blackwell loser."

"Sorry if I offended you, Chloe. Let's just keep our differences aside us and get the show on the road."

We walk up to the concession stand and a young boy serving drinks at the party pours us both a cup of Mountain Dew. The we let the games begin.

"Glamorous and cunning Blackwell super-star goes first," I said.

I pick up my cup of soda and gulp down my first sip. Then I quickly put my down when I finish my first shot. It was Chloe's turn now if she could be quick enough.

"Sorry ass dropout next," I said.

And just like that, Chloe quick snatches her cup of soda and takes her first shot. Then quickly slams her cup down on the table in an instant.

"I'll try and go easy on you so you don't have to break a nail, Princess," said Chloe.

"You did not just call me that."

"I sure did. I've called you that before. You didn't have a complaint about it."

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."

I take my cup off the table and gulp down my next shot. Then it was Chloe's turn. Does the same and so far she was on a breeze.

"Ha, I've seen how you've dealt with a few drinks, Rach. Very messy."

I take my next shot just like that. Only this time when it's Chloe turn, she appeared to be hesitant at first.

"You know, I expected better-" I say before being cut off.

Just like that, Chloe takes her shot. Done. Guess she was better than I figured after all.

"I'm saving my best moves for later," she said.

"Psft, best moves? At least when your expelled, you have an excuse to get high and get laid."

Chloe frowned. Then I took my next shot.

"Boom! I'm on a roll!" I exclaim.

The Chloe takes her next shot to make sure she's on a roll, too. I think I should let her win this time and stop using my secret rewind power to cheat again.

"Keep it coming, Rachel. I can do this all night."

"Eh, you may have to."

"I'd say this was rather a good idea."

"Yeah, it was. Ready for round two?"

"Bring it on."

Our cups were empty. So asked the concession sever to fill her up again. And he did. But before round two could begin, some old friends of ours snuck up on us. It was Justin and Trevor.

"Hey, my friend here doesn't like Rachel Amber," said Justin hitting my shoulder.

"Buddy, we're right in the middle of something," said Chloe.

"I don't like Rachel Amber either," he said hitting my shoulder again.

"Kiss my ass, Justin," I reply. "I've seen that movie more times Jaws."

We all knew he was teasing us anyways. A tease anyone would've figured out anyways if Justin was making a reference to a movie the whole planet knew about.

"How's it going, Rachel," he asked.

"Right back at you, Justin."

"Me and Trevor here were just here to ask if you and Chloe were up for some skateboarding next weekend."

"Me and Chloe have nothing to next weekend. So we'll see about it."

"What are you and Chloe up to now?"

"I invited Chloe over to a drinking game. Want to join?"

"Me and Trev got other things to do at this party. We'll catch ya later."

"It's been real, Justin. We'll see at the skateboarding park if we can."

Our two old friends left us and we said a few words before continuing our game.

"For a moment there, I thought Justin was now friends with Victoria," I said.

"Me too," said Chloe. "Speaking of skateboarding, you never all that good at it."

"Neither were you. At least Justin and Trev were able to teach us a trick or two. Anyway, where were we?"

"Right. Off to round two."

 **Note: So there's your next flashback on my next back story with Rachel. Now about the first part of this chapter, I'm pretty sure you just might be able to tell who attacked Max's Psychiatrists when he had brought it up at the trial. There's so much to be set up within the future of this story.**

 **Until next time, stay golden.**


	5. The Dark Room Files

Chapter 5 The Dark Room Files

Chloe

April 16th, 2014

12:18 PM

10 Miles From Arcadia Bay

Kettle Lake Lodge

 _"At Max Caulfield's trial today, her alibi for the manslaughter of six-hundred civilians remains unconfirmed. Within ten witnesses who have taken stand at the trial of Arcadia versus Max Caulfield, none had any whereabouts of her supernormal demeanor. Each and every witness were either close individuals, relatives, or health experts who have all denied any intelligence of Caulfield's maniacal potential. Meanwhile, Arcadia Bay still remains in uncertainty of Chrysalis's poetic justice to shut down the Quantum Crisis. While protest still roam the streets of Arcadia, there are some who proclaim Caulfield to be guilty as sin and others who consider otherwise."_

The news had shown footage of citizens of Arcadia Bay patrolling the streets with picket signs in their hands and waving their fists in the air. Standing up against the martial law that dreads their great city. There were some people who spoke against Max and other who spoke for her.

 _"I say we shut this bitch down! She destroyed our town!"_

 _"We can't let Chrysalis mistreat Max Caulfield the way they're mistreating us! I say we stand up to Chrysalis!"_

 _"If we want to end this quantum terror, we should end Max Caulfield with it!"_

 _"If we want to save this city, let's Caulfield with it!"_

The news cut back to the anchor.

 _"As protest continue to speak out against both Chrysalis Control and Caulfield's indictment, Secretary of State Kate Brown as made a statement at the Arcadia Bay Town Hall in regards of both the destruction of Arcadia and the Blackwell shooting."_

The screen cut to Secretary Brown standing behind a podium at a press conference in Town Hall.

 _"There are times when we face a horrible tragedy like the mass destruction of Arcadia Bay caused by a tornado storm that killed hundreds of innocents. There are also times when tragedy is effected by treachery and deceit. Six months ago, we all believed the killing of six hundred people was all but a natural disaster. Little did we know that the reality of the storm was orchestrated by the nature of Quantum Terrorism. And when the word terrorism is at hand, we act to take the battle against it. However, there is a difference between bringing the terror to justice and taking the alibi on a young woman named Max Caulfield without the proper affirmation. Make no mistake, Arcadia Bay is in crisis and until we gain the real affirmation, Max Caulfield is not the answer."_

 _"In other news, the manhunt for_ _fugitive Rachel Amber, another convicted quantum terrorist still remains under commission. We will have more on this as it progresses. I'm Brock Kent. Arcadia News."_

The first session of Max's trial had ended over two hours due to the adverse witness, Dr. Thomas, who had taken the stand. I walk back into Rachel's lodge still dressed in my clothes I wore to the trial and see her on the couch watching the news. I assumed she had been watching it just to keep track of the story behind Max's case. I wonder if she also had taken some of her time to search through the data we stole from the Prescotts.

"So, how did it go?" asked Rachel. "My guess is that Case Caulfield is far from over."

"Your guess is as good as mine," I reply. "Our first day just didn't go down as well as I hoped. Max's prosecutors call her a spoiled human being, Max's parents get emotional, my parents are completely confounded of what's happing with Max, Mr. Prickscott can't say anything about her, and then we get an adverse witness on the stand that makes everyone leave the court and abruptly ends the session. What a waste."

"There's your going to wanna see," said Rachel turning off the television.

"Off course I'm gonna wanna see," I said. "What is it this time, Rach?"

"What your gonna wanna see Chloe might have more to do with Max's case."

Rachel gets off the couch and takes me over to her evidence board to show me what I need to see. What I see are some rather interesting files about quantum terrorist. Surprisingly about none other than Neo-Chrysalis. The first file I see is one on a Neo-Chrysalis leader with an image of him printed on.

"Alexei Ranikov, one of Neo-Chrysalis's top mercenary and most dangerous leaders in the organization," Rachel identified. "Neo-Chrysalis's nationality comes from the Eastern European territories. Mostly from Russia, Germany, or any other countries that are nearest. Ranikov for instance has lead several terrorist attacks ranging across the globe. Intel says that they occasionally rely on sacramental methods to construct their attacks. As Warren mentioned, they would perform supernatural rituals to unleash certain attacks. In this case, rituals that would unleash weather disasters. That tornado storm that hit Arcadia could've easily been ritualized by these people like Warren theorized."

"So what your showing me here is some Russian flatfoot leading a bunch of terrorist who go hell-bent across the globe are potentially the nut-jobs who framed Max. Hell, why do the Prescotts have intel on this Neo-Chrysalis anyways? Does this mean they're working for them or something? As far as politics are concerned, it's their job to protect the people Arcadia Bay from terrorism. Not start them."

"That's what they want you to believe, Chloe. But that doesn't mean it's exactly what they're doing. Nor does it mean they're working for these terrorist. I can give you the benefit of the doubt that we're off to a least a decent start on finding the fuckers who set up Max. Unfortunately, it still isn't sufficient evidence that would remotely find the Prescotts guilty of harboring terrorist or to clear Max's name."

"Anything else I need to see that just might be remotely sufficient or rather insufficient?"

"Just one more thing you should see. May not be the most sufficient, but I'll add a little more icing on the cake."

The other pieces of evidence Rachel was able to find was related to the Dark Room. Whatever that had to do with Max's case, I didn't imagine it did.

"According to these Dark Room files, Mr. Jefferson had been trafficking his own students for more than just to build is own gallery of feminine pornography. He had been hunting down teenage girls potentially exposed to chronons. In other words, time travelers. And he would kidnap whoever was thought to be potential candidate for time bending."

"So wait, hold on. Your telling me Mr. Jeffershit kidnapped a bunch girls to his Porno Room just figure out if they were time travelers?"

"I know it sounds stupid, Chloe, but that's not all. Jefferson was working undercover for these terrorist and was hired to conduct the Dark Room project. They wanted him to kidnap those girls and use them for test subjects for the project. According to every dossier for every test subject marked for the project, they all mention something about them being more resistant or less resistant to the drugs Jefferson gave them when he captured them."

"What do you mean more or less resistant to the drugs he gave them?"

"It says here these weren't just knockout drugs he was dosing the subjects with. They were special kind of drugs produced to detect chronon exposure. Once the subject was dosed, the drug would not only render them unconscious, but also detect any exposure to chronon cells in the subject's blood stream. If they weren't exposed, they would be less than resistant. If they were, they would have temporary resistance to the drugs they were given before knocked unconscious. Then Jefferson would take them into the Dark Room for research via photographs and other resources to his own expertise. It's that simple."

"That simple, huh? I mean you were one of Jefferson's victims right? So was Kate. And so was Max, too. Were you able to resist the drugs? Why would Jefferson take pictures of their pretty little bodies for research? And as a follow up question, wasn't it the Prescotts who funded that bunker for that Dark Room project? Now your telling me that Neo-Chrysalis hired some psychopathic nut-job to do this kind of work for them. Why? As another follow-up question were they even aware of what Jeffershit had been up to? What if the Prescotts are working for Neo-Chrysalis? After all, Jefferson was using Nathan to get some of his dirty work done. Was he not?"

"I don't know, Chloe. First of all, Jefferson probably took pictures of them for picture references perhaps. Second, it is indeed possible that both the Prescotts and Neo-Chrysalis are tied to this Dark Room thing. But you know what, this is all besides Max's case. Although it does connect to a strong likelihood that they've all been working together, it isn't strongly physical proof that would accuse them of summoning that tornado storm. Nevertheless, we're getting closer to finding out who really did so. We really are."

I'm astounded at the facts Rachel was able to uncover. How can anyone possibly see a shit-for-brains Blackwell teacher and a psycho rich kid working for a bunch of European quantum terrorist? The answer is, you don't. It makes me think back that week in October again that became the origin story of the adventures of the Pricefield couple and the prologue to another chapter in our lives we have to suffer through.

It was all starting to come down to me. My ex-girlfriend runs away, a girl from Blackwell nearly jumps off a roof, and I'm shot dead in the head before Max is kidnapped all because of the work of terrorist? And then there's Jefferson's involvement. Not to mention Nathan's involvement. Was this the real reason Nathan had almost ended my life across the barrel of a gun? It's as if Nathan wasn't only being pawned by Jefferson or his family, but by terrorist?

I'm now officially terrified beyond the capacity of excruciating irony. I'm starting to believe it wasn't the Prescotts of Jefferson running down our live, but Neo-Chrysalis? How would Max react to all of this if I ever brought this up to her? Frankly, she would be just as baffled as I am. I'll tell you that. I walk away from the evidence for second just to clear my head of things a take breath. I lean my hands against the living room couch just to remain calm and unstressed.

"Chloe, I know your stressed out now, but you know I'm trying. You should be thankful for what I'm doing."

"It isn't that, Rachel. No matter how hard you may be trying, I'm only fearing for the worst."

"And what is the worst, Chloe? Max abruptly loosing this case? Is that all your fearing?"

"There's that. And also the fact that my life appears to have been sabotaged by terrorist now. What a fucking twist."

"Jesus, Chloe. If your going to start another 'poor me' conversation, spare me. Alright?"

"No, it not alright. In fact, it's worse than I thought. Not only does Max get set up by terrorist, I feel like the same kind of victim myself. Nathan almost kills me in a bathroom, Jefferson shoots me to death in a junkyard, and Max almost sacrifices me for everyone's greater effect. All because of the sinister influence of this so-called Neo-Chrysalis. I don't believe I'm actually admitting this."

"You do know your not the only victim in Arcadia Bay whose had her life sabotaged by terrorist. People have lost their friends, their families, and as usual your only thinking about yourself. How original."

"Oh, fuck you, Rachel. It's like why does everyone in my life need a downfall. My Dad dies in a car wreck, Max leaves me for years, my Mom marries a man I never asked to be my Dad, you go flirting around with Frank and leave me for over a year, and now Max is being declared a war criminal for going ISIS on Arcadia Bay."

"Well whoopty shit, Chloe. Your doing it again. Even after six months of being together again with Max. You want to know why everyone in your life has his or her downfall, that's precisely how the universe works, Chloe. Your Dad's death, there is no one to blame but some jackass drinking and driving on a diesel truck. Max leaving town for couple of year, it's not like it was her choice. Your Mom married to David, no matter how much of a Step-Ass he used to be, it was only because he cared about you and tried to protect you from being constantly dragged down. I'm not gonna even explain myself about me and Frank again. As for Max's indictment...let's just not ask questions we know answer to. There goes your answer."

"You know what, this isn't about my sorrowful life anymore. It never has. By now, I grow tired of everyone handing me out this lecture. And I have. Just why couldn't it have been enough for me and my little Jane Doe. Why did it have to get so much worse that it had already been that first week I was together again with her? Why?"

"Chloe, you can feel sorry for yourself all you want. But Max didn't do this. Someone else did. I don't care if it were the Prescotts or Neo-Chrysalis or anyone else. Just understand that life isn't a fairy tale where everyone gets to live happily ever after. All that matters is that we receive all the sufficient evidence we need to clear her name and that she's found not guilty in court. And we can't do that with the attitude your throwing at me right now."

"Rachel, I'm sorry. Okay-"

"Don't be sorry. Be committed."

"I'm not sorry for giving you this attitude. I'm sorry for revamping it again. If there's a difference. Just one more thing I have to say if it's worth saying."

"What is it?"

"When we find the fuckers who made Max a criminal and ruined our lives, make sure to bring a good supply of guns and ammunition. Because when we see them, I'm gonna find...and I'm gonna kill...every last one of them. I'll be sure to make them pay and make them wish they had left us the fuck alone."

 **Note: Some of the coldest words to come out of Chloe's mouth. Weren't they? For those of you wondering why I brought up the Dark Room in this chapter, let's just say I won't say too much. Because it might give away something if it hasn't already. Lease a review for this story down below if you would believe those cold-hearted words Chloe had said. In time, you'll find it even more interesting why I made the Dark Room become a terrorist project.**

 **Until next time, stay golden!**


	6. Enter Elysium

Chapter 6 Enter Elysium

Max

April 16th, 2014

9:50 PM

Portland, Oregon

Chrysalis HQ

I am fast asleep in my cell back at Chrysalis headquarters. It was a hell of a morning during my trial today. All I needed was a good night's rest before my trial resumes tomorrow. While I'm unconscious, a voice wakes me up from outside my cell calling my name. It wasn't guard knocking on the door trying to wake me up. It was something else. It was a whisper being echoed from outside.

 _"Max,"_ the voice called out.

When the voice called out my name a second time, I open eyes and stretch myself from exhaustion. The voice is heard a third time and it must be calling my name for a reason. The only way for me to investigate the noise would be to step out of my cell. But I couldn't just walks straight out down the cellblocks to investigate if there were guards on duty. And even if I could, my cell door is locked. When I turn the door nab on my cell door, it's surprisingly unlocked. How so?

Regardless, I walk right out of my cell to investigate the noise. I walk across the cellblocks cautiously without detection from the guards. Every time I checked my corners, there didn't appear to be any guards around. Something wasn't right. I had seen hall lights blinking in a certain direction. The lights appeared to be showing me the way.

I follow the lights in the direction they take me and they lead me to the elevator. Whatever was doing this must want me to step inside. I get in the elevator and blinking button on the panel tells me where to go. I press the button that takes me down to the level I'm supposed to be going and the elevator takes me to the top floors of the building. I step out of the elevator when it come to a halt and I am taken to Special Projects where Project Elysium is being worked on.

The voices and the lighting takes me to the room where Project Elysium was in fruition. They have taken me to where the countermeasure of the Elysium Server Regulator (ESR) had been constructed. Why here? I had a feeling I had entered another one of my visions again. And I had. In a matter of seconds upon entering the ESR room, everything in sight flashes in a white light burning through my eyes. I clench my eyes tightly and shield my face with my hands in front of me. When the brightness is gone, my eyes are in less pain. When I open my eyes and unblock my face, a strange thing occurs. The room is now empty.

The countermeasure to the ESR is gone. The room was completely cleansed of every circuit breaker, power generator, and everything else that was built for the ESR. Then all of sudden, I realized I had entered another time lapse again. The same one I had entered at my parents' house back in Seattle. This part of the lapse was showing me the very beginning of the project build.

In the time lapse, there were rapid moving scientist constructing the countermeasure from place to place. The first things I saw being taken back to the beginning of Project Elysium were chalkboards and blueprint work used to instruct the people working on the project as well as some half built components designed for the project. The time lapse then comes to a halt to were I see two people talking to each other. They appeared to be Crosby and Sorenson. Only they appeared to look younger than I had seen them. Crosby actually had hair on his head and Sorenson had grown a little more hair on himself than he had when I first met him. How far in time have I lapsed?

 _"How long can we keep this project going, Sebian?"_ asked the younger Crosby.

 _"We've spent merely two years on this project, Derrick,"_ replied the younger Sorenson. _"We may have kept up good progress since, but who knows if it will actually work whenever it's ready."_

Two years? Chrysalis was founded in 1999 and that was the same year Project Elysium had started. The year I had jumped would have to be 2001. Which explains how the two founders looked younger.

 _"For all we know, this could take whole another decade to complete this project,"_ said the young Sorenson. _"What hope do we have if this project was to be completed to start with?"_

 _"Sebian, great ambition comes great hope. Without ambition, there can be no hope. Without hope, there will be no completion for this project. Even if it does take a whole another decade, it will always be our duty to dedicate our live to bring about the future of Chrysalis and Project Elysium alone."_

The time lapse resumes and there are now rapid moving people making progress on the project. As the project evolves in the time lapse, there are now scientist assembling the infrastructure of the project with generators and breakers. The lapse was now getting to the point where the core of the countermeasure was being placed. How long could it have taken them to get this far? The lapse halts itself again with Crosby talkomg to Sorenson and a female scientist accompanying them. Crosby and Sorenson had almost looked the same age as when I had first met them. How many years have passed this time?

 _"Mr. Crosby, we've had whole another decade to complete this project,"_ said the female scientists. _"It was been a whole another decade."_

 _"Don't get naive with me, Dr. Hendricks,"_ said Crosby. _"We have come this far these past twelve years to fulfilling Project Elysium and we will not stop now."_

Twelve years. This had to be the year 2011, approximately. Ten years after the earlier memory and twelve years after Chrysalis was founded as well as when the project started.

 _"Mr. Crosby is right, Hendricks,"_ said Sorenson. _"We give up now, Chrysalis has no future to outcome for it's people. If we're able to establish the countermeasure for the ESR, we have a greater chance at completing this project as a whole."_

 _"Was it that your saying?"_ asked the scientist named Hendricks. _"All I know is that this project had specifically been in the works to talk to the dead from another world. It's ridiculous it's taken us this long."_

 _"How long it has taken, Hendricks, matters less. What matters more is how much of a decade's long work can pay off for the future of this company. You as a Chrysalis researcher, it is in your will to take matters seriously and give the people who pay their respects to Chrysalis the future they deserve. No question about it."_

The time lapse resumed and eventually reached to the point where the infrastructure was fully built. The lapse paused to one more time to a more recent memory before it was over. This time there was Crosby and Sean Prescott having conversation.

 _"She's a masterpiece isn't she?"_ said Crosby. _"Fifteen years of hard work and effort and here she is seeing the light of day."_

 _"All the hard work you've made your researchers do for over a decade and this is how they're rewarded,"_ complimented Sean. _"I'm impressed. It's as if you worked all your best scientist in the science division do death. I wonder who gets the noble prize for the project. Sorenson?"_

 _"We don't need a noble prize for this project, Sean. This is a gift to you as a token of our relationship and your family's legacy. When project Elysium is unveiled, you'll get to see your late Son Nathan again. You bet on that."_

 _"You think by unveiling this project, I actually get to cope with my loss more. Tell that to my wife, Adrian. Even after months of loosing our one and only son, she still misses whole fucking lot."_

 _"So do you, Sean. You deserve to see Nathan again just as well as Adrian does. Why act like you don't? Consider that a question that won't be ignored."_

 _"Derrick, as much as I'd scold you for bringing up my son, I'll be honest with you. I hadn't been the best Father to Nathan, but that didn't stop me from loving him so much and being proud that he was my Son. Of course I deserve to him again. Sigh, maybe I could tell him the things I never told him when he was still alive."_

 _"What would tell him?"_

 _"Son, your special. You born to do great things for this family. I'm sorry you couldn't live long enough to make that a reality. I carried several burdens and regrets in a lifetime before and your death is on the top of that list. You had a longer life to live and I blame myself sometimes for not making sure that happened. I only want you to know that despite my failure as a Father, I still love you very much. I always will. So does your Mother and your Sister."_

 _"Sean, I'm sorry I-"_

Sean held his hand up to pause Crosby's sentence. He looked like he was about to sob, but he held his tears. He didn't look like a man who would get emotional that easy, but he still had remorse for his own Son. Sometimes I felt bad for the Prescotts loosing Nathan myself, but it was nothing worth beating myself up over. The blood was on Jefferson's hands. Not mine.

 _"It was nice talking to you, Derrick. I must say good day to you. I have business to attend to back in Arcadia Bay. My Wife and Daughter still need me when I'm not home."_

When the time lapse had ended, the countermeasure room is back to how it originally was when I walked in here. However, my vision was far from done. When I walk out of the room, I enter someplace beyond normal. I have entered someplace I've actually seen before in my visions. I have entered the frozen forest. The place I first entered in my vision back in Seattle.

Why has my vision brought me hear? What do I need to know this time? From a distance, I could see my Dear spirit again. My spirit animal that is as Samuel once mentioned to me. What better thing to do than to follow my own spirit Doe.

As I'm following my spirit creature, I come across a hilltop I have to walk over. The mystic Doe is at the very top and then gallops away again. Then I hear voices again. They weren't voices calling my name, but rather voices saying words that didn't sound like English. They had been saying the words like: "gabba cabba". Whatever that means, I didn't care. The sooner I find out why I was brought here, the sooner I can get out of my vision.

Once I got up the hilltop, I see a giant tree with a giant heart attached to it across the view from where I stood. It was also sparking electricity on it's branches. I had seen this tree before. But that wasn't all. What I saw next was even stranger than anything else I've seen before.

I turn around and behind me are a band of hooded figures wearing robes. I gasp. What were these things? Who were these people? Whatever you call them, they repeated the words 'gabba cabba' to themselves in a very demonic voice. The next thing I know when I turn back to the giant tree, I see the giant heart detach itself from the tree branches and hover over to where I stand. The floating heart comes to a halt when it hovers in the central gap between the hilltop and the electric tree. Once the heart freezes in mid-air, it bursts open like a pumpkin revealing an entity inside. This entity stood on the platform of what was left of the heart. This entity's likeness was familiar. This was the shadow figure I had seen in my previous visions. Now I was really in for it.

The group of hooded figures bent themselves on there knees as if they were kneeling before the shadow figure. When they did, the shadow's voice had spoken.

"The traveler has arrived," said the shadow. Speaking in a demonic tone. "It is time for her to learn."

Something lifts me in the air real tightly. I could feel some kind of telepathic power gripping me firmly. It hurts like hell. I grit my teeth as I'm painfully being held up in the air. It was the shadow figure telepathically holding my high in the air. The figure had reeled me in towards where he was standing with his telekinesis power. I couldn't move. I was being held up next to him like a fish on a hook.

"So...we meet again, Maxine."

"Max. Never...Maxine."

I could barely talk with his kinesis power seizing my body. What has this demonic figure come to lecture me for this time?

"Refer yourself to what you will. The time has come for you to learn what will be and will be not."

"What...what are you...talking about? What do you want...from me?"

"Humans have called you a killer, a monster, a destructor of their civilization. You will be known to this world as a traveler. A traveler who has defied personal tragedy and despair. A traveler who's blinded by ego and possessed by uncertainty. The traveler who calls herself Max."

"Traveler? Who...are you? Why are you...telling me...this?"

"Who I am is of unimportance. I have been given many names for centuries that have passed. The one you will refer to me is Chronos. God of time. Deity of Saint Loomis. Ruler of Elysium."

"So...your Chronos. Why am I here? What do you want?"

"You are a traveler of time. One who only desires the potential of harmony and surpassed the obligation of obscenity. Manipulating every opportunity of blasphemy to your optimistic desires and collective affection. Your temptation has blinded you as ever. You have the potential to stop what's coming, traveler. You have the power to prevent time from coming to it's end. The end of time is coming sooner than you can imagine. The question remains. Do you have the will to stop the universe from ending it's cycle? Or will you except your world's imminent fate as it will? When the day arrives, the choice will be yours."

The shadow figure who now called himself Chronos used his kinesis power to toss me away from him sending me down a deep hole gapping the hilltop and the tree. I'm now falling to my doom and screaming for dear life until I hit the bottom. When I reach the bottom of the hole, my vision ends.

I snap wide awake and gasp back in my cell. I'm back in my nice warm bed panting as I wake up back to reality. I couldn't believe I had seen in my dream. It felt so real. And it was. I actually met Chronos the God of time. He had been that shadow of my dreams all this time. And now the end of time was coming. How could I have forgotten? If the tornado became a reality, so would that black hole in the sky above the Chrysalis tower. I had to do something about it. Even if I'm being tried and imprisoned. I'll be fucked if things go genocidal for the last time. I really would.

 **Note: Well I hope you guys enjoyed all that. I seem to be doing just fine setting everything up for the future of this fiction. In time, my build up will pay off definitely.**

 **Until next time, stay golden everybody. Stay golden.**


	7. Guess Who

Chapter 7 Part 1 Guess Who

Rachel

April 21st, 2013

6:57 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Blackwell Academy

 **Soffi Needs a Latter - Deadmau5**

When Chloe and I are done with our drinking game, we decide to hang our with the cool kids at the Vortex Club area. It was members only, but I was allowed entry anyways for the sake of my popularity. I even told them that I would be allowing Chloe to come in as well. Once we entered the Vortex Club house, we could see Nathan and his bad boys as well as Victoria and her mean girls sitting down and socializing.

"Hey look, it's Rachel!" shouted Zachary.

"Rachel, my girl!" shouted Nathan. "How ya doing?! Come on over and sit with us."

"Please don't call me your girl, Nathan," I said. "I really don't like getting hit on in front of the whole club."

"Well what do we have here?" muttered Victoria. "If it isn't Rachel Amber and her punk-ass hoe. How lovely to see you two here. I'm not if you can read the sign, but it says Vortex Club only. Goodbye."

"Don't be a bitch, Vic," said Nathan. "Let Rachel in. Just remember I'm in charge of this club. Not you. So I say Rachel and Chloe can stay if they like. Okay?"

Without argument, Victoria roles her eye and sits back down with her friends. Me and Chloe find a place to sit next to Nathan and other Vortex Club members. I sit next to Nathan and Chloe sits between Zachary, Juliet, and Dana. We decide what to talk about while chilling at the Vortex Club area. Victoria still didn't appreciate my presence here, but she could the fuck over it for all I cared.

"So, what shall we talk about my lady?" asked Nathan.

"My fellow Amber Club members," I begin. "Let's play a game of 'Guess Who'. Who wants to go first?"

"Why don't we have ladies go first," suggested Dana. "I'll be the first one to go."

"Go for it, Dana," I said. "You all know how to play Guess Who, I assume."

"I'm guessing someone who likes to go snooping around in my dorm all day and lock me in my dorm all day if I do something wrong."

"Ooh, I know," said Taylor. "It's Juliet."

"Correct," said Dana.

"Really, Dana?" said Juliet irritably. "It's not like I've done it recently. Only every once in while whenever I think you need to be taught a lesson."

"Okay, who's next?" I ask. "Let's try to do it without humiliating somebody this time. Whoever's next."

"I'll go, Rachel," said Courtney. "I'm guessing someone who likes Juliet and likes to play Romeo at the same time. Can anyone guess?"

"The hell if we know, Courtney," said Hayden. "I've got nothing."

"I give up," said Taylor. "Can't say I know."

"I've got nothing, Courtney," said Zachary. "I'm officially stumped."

I turn over to Logan who looks away from everybody with an embarrassed look on his face. I had already guessed who it was. Before I said something, Courtney had also caught Logan blushing in her eye.

"Logan, I know that look when I see it," said Courtney. "I know it's you."

"Oh, come on, Courtney," whined Logan. "Why did you have to say that out loud in front of Juliet. It's not like I like her, like her. She doesn't like me either. I just enjoy hitting on her from time to time."

"Yeah, Courtney," muttered Juliet. "Why did you have to say that out loud where everyone can hear? So far I've been humiliated twice in this game. So much for avoiding that."

"Victoria, I'm letting you do this voluntarily," I said. "Whether we humiliate anybody or not, I'm letting you take your turn nicely. Okay?"

"Okay, Rachel. My turn," said Victoria. "I'm guessing someone who likes, Rachel. Someone who has liked her since the day she came to Arcadia Bay. Someone who likes to glom all over her and sleep with her all night until she's all smutted out. That my friends is Chloe Price."

Chloe dropped her jaw and widened her eyes. I frowned at Victoria. God, does she know how to pick her battles when it comes to humiliation. Literally, the whole club laughs out loud at Victoria's guess. The whole is now laughing real hard at me and Chloe.

"She just told your deepest darkest secret!" shouted Nathan pointing at Chloe. "You must be so embarrassed!"

"Victoria Chase," muttered Chloe. "You better take that back. Right now."

"Guys, come on," I said. "Seriously, let's not take things farther than it needs to. Alright?"

"Oh, please. That was a good one Vic," said Nathan. "I did not see that one coming."

"Thank you, Nathan," replied Victoria. "Now they know how it feels."

After the laughter died down, Mr. Jefferson walked by and saw us laughing with each other. He stopped by to talk to me.

"Hey, Rachel. What are you guys laughing out loud about?" asked Jefferson.

"Oh, hi Jefferson," I said. "We're just playing a humiliating game of Guess Who. What brings you here?"

"I need to talk to you for a minute, Rachel. Somewhere private."

"Okay, then. Let's talk."

I leave the group for minute to talk with Jefferson. Chloe must be pissed off at Victoria for exposing the two of us as bisexuals and I as well, but I can deal with Victoria later. Right now, I had to hear what Jefferson had to say. We talk somewhere away from the group.

"Rachel, I like to talk to you about our agreement," he says.

"What about our agreement," I ask.

"As much as I'm honored to mentor your way to your future, there are some anticipations that need to be postponed."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that even though we agreed to go on a little trip together to L.A., it may have to wait till summer."

"Okay, I'm fine with that. What's the worry?"

"There may be some complications that may interfere with our plans. I have business to attend to with the Prescotts and some other people who want me in on it over the summer and we may not be able to go."

"The Prescotts? What business do you have with those people that complicates things?"

"That's something I'm not allowed to tell you. What I am allowed to tell you is that don't get upset if we don't go this summer. I'm not saying we won't go over the summer, I'm saying we will go depending on how business goes for me with the Prescotts. Do we understand each other?"

"Sure, Mr. Jefferson. I understand. I just didn't know you were somebody special with that family is all."

"Good. I have to go now. Enjoy the rest of the party."

Chapter 7 Part 2 Next Session

Max

April 17th, 2014

8:55 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Arcadia Bay Courthouse

It was Thursday morning and I my trial was to resume session in five minutes. So far, this week has been the most definitively and most politically painful week of my life. Easily overshadowing the week of my origin story if you know what I mean. I've missed merrily a whole week of school and being together with my blue angel. And for what? The killing of over six-hundred people who lived in Arcadia Bay or the set-up of some ISIS-like terrorist group that's being suspected for such atrocity and genocide?

I sit next to Chloe and Crosby at our table in front of the court. Still wearing my prison rags and handcuffs. I've been wearing them for almost a week and I'm starting to get used to wearing them already. Everyone else who attended the trial yesterday attended today. Although, I did spot some new faces attending the trial also. Such as Principal Wells, Dr. Sorenson, and even Captain Cage. The head of the Chrysalis Security Task Force. (CSTF) This should be a more exciting day than yesterday. I only wondered if Chloe would ever get the chance to take the stand too. She's indefinitely the kind of witness this court deserves.

I'm still thinking about dream last night. About the evolution of Project Elysium and the so-called ruler of Elysium and deity of St. Loomis. None other than the God of Time himself named Chronos. I never believed in such mythology until now. I still had the end of time to think about when I still needed to be testified for my crimes. I thought about telling Chloe what I saw, but I was only worried how she would respond. Either she'll hear me out or shut me out. What should I do?

 **X/SQUARE/LM - TELL HER ABOUT IT**

 **B/CIRCLE/RM - DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT**

"Chloe, can I say something? I know you may or may not want to hear it, but could you just hear anyways?"

"As long as it's worth hearing, Max, my ears are unplugged."

I clear my throat.

"I'm pretty sure I've told you countless times before about my visions relating to the end of time, but I believe this is something new. Something you haven't heard before."

"And what exactly haven't I heard before about your visions?"

"I saw him again, Chloe. The shadow in my visions is actually the God of Time named Chronos from Greek mythology. He had told me that I had the will to stop the end of time from coming. That I either prevent this world from such a disastrous fate or accept it. He also told me that it's coming sooner than I think. The sooner we get this trial wrapped up, the sooner we can know when the end of time actually is. If my charges are cleared somehow that is."

"Max, I understand your fear of failure again, but we need to stay more concentrated on this trial than the end of fucking time. If we actually pull this off, if we actually get you out of this, then maybe we can worry about it. Alright?"

"All rise!" the bailiff called out.

Everyone including ourselves all stood up before the court.

"This court will come to order. The honorable Judge Gareth presiding. Resuming session of Arcadia Bay Versus Max Caulfield."

Judge Gareth was now coming into the courtroom and then sat on his desk. The trial is now finishing what it started. The judge had a reminder before we resumed session.

"May I remind this court before we begin that there will be no talks of any supernatural myths or theories relating to quantum terrorism. Anyone who does will be rectified of such. Let us begin what we started."

 **Note: If you guys already figured where I'm going with this flashback story of Rachel, that's good. I won't have to write a note about it. I also want to notify my fellow readers that my break will be ending shortly, but I'll still be writing ahead depending on how school treats me.**

 **Until next time, stay golden.**


	8. Always Accountable

Chapter 8 Part 1 Always Accountable

Rachel

April 17th, 2014

9:01 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Outside City Limits

I had left the lodge shortly after Chloe left for Max's trial. I drive my bike down the road back to Arcadia Bay. Despite all the data me and Chloe had collected from the estate that seemingly got us so much closer, it just so happens that it got us a little further away. I believed the Prescotts must of been clever enough to hide all the other answers elsewhere even if someone had stolen the ones we stole at the manor. Perhaps Chrysalis themselves might have more answers elsewhere that just might fill in more blank and connect more dots. Answers that just might give me the faintest fucking clue on who had worked with Neo-Chrysalis to fabricate Max's crimes. And the only was that was going to occur was going back into town.

I understood it would be suicide, but fugitive or not, Max still needs me to make sure her verdict is justified. Chloe still needs me despite my mishaps that made her disloyal to me. I knew how much Max meant to Chloe as much as how much I meant to her since the day I first met her when I first moved to Arcadia Bay and I wasn't just going to sit around and make her live through another sorrowful life. I was going to get out there and spare her another one. That's exactly what I was going to do and I'll be damned if anything was going to stand in my way. Anything.

If I was going to enter the city limits, I was going to have to be smart about it. I stop my bike and park it to the side of the road when I'm at least fifty feet away from town. When I turn off the bike's engine's, I stroll my bike off road and hide it in a bush. Once I do, I see an oncoming Chrysalis vehicle heading down the road and I quickly drop down on the grass behind the bush so I'm not seen. When the vehicle passes, it stops by a gate Chrysalis had built to fortify the city limits. It was a cargo truck that had passed by and stopped. If I could reach to the truck, I could hide in the trunk where the cargo is being held and it will be my ticket inside Arcadia.

I quickly move out of the grass and towards the truck without detection. Once I'm inside the cargo hold, the truck starts moving and drives pass the gate. Wherever this truck was going, it had to be a place where Chrysalis was holding out. Considering Arcadia Bay was now a Chrysalis stronghold, I'm sure there had to be an outpost or two somewhere in town this truck was heading to.

While the truck is driving, I hide inside a wooden crate being carried in the trunk so I wouldn't be discovered inside. The truck drives smoothly across town passing by every street and checkpoint set up in town. I wonder if the vehicle had driven past the street where Two Whales was located. It was the street people usually take when getting in and out of town. Regardless, it wouldn't matter anyway since I concealed myself inside a crate being carried on the trunk. It's so dark inside the crate I hide myself in, I couldn't tell anyway.

When I can feel the truck slowing down, I know I was getting close to somewhere. Then I hear the sound of a reverse alarm going off when I felt the truck moving backwards. This had to be the where I was coming to stop. It had to. And then the truck comes to a complete halt. I stay inside the crate incase anyone came inside. Then I feel something take hold of the crate and I'm being lifted upwards. It was a forklift picking me up.

The forklift took the crate I was in to where it was supposed to be and dropped. Once I was back on the ground again and the forklift drove away, I open the crate a little to peak outside to where I was. It appeared to be some kind of docks. I was at the Arcadia Shipping Docks. The same place me and Max were being chased by that turret truck and blew up that diesel truck carrying a thousand gallons of gasoline.

I crawl out of the crate, put on my hood attached to my hoodie that was being worn under my red shirt and cover my mouth with a bandana mask so I'm not recognized. Even if I was spotted for a second or two. This was the place I needed to be. Chrysalis had been shipping cargo onto these docks for a couple of days since they arrived in Arcadia. There had to be at least some intel cargo or anything else I can steal from them that could help me find the fucker who made a scapegoat out of Max.

I sneak around the docks very stealthily in order to find the intel cargo I need. There are guards and dock workers scattered around the place. I use my time vision to pinpoint where everyone is posted incase I need to take a guard or too out.

After brawling a few guards unconscious and hiding behind every corner of the docks, I eventually hit the jackpot when I spot a shipping container the reads: **Chrysalis Intelligence**. This had to be what I was looking for.

I make sure the cost is clear of guard or workers before making my way over to the container. Once I'm at the container, I open the door to it and take a look inside. Inside the container are some data drives and servers that I would assume carry intel on something. There is also a laptop and some folder that I know would be carrying intel on whatever.

When I peak through the files, it turns out to be intel on Neo-Chrysalis. The files read some records on terrorist attacks that had been committed over the years. It could prove useful if it were to help Max win this case. I also skim through the intel on the laptop and it read pretty much the same thing. I would download this on a flash drive, but it would be to much bandwidth. Even if I did have enough bandwidth, there wouldn't be time anyways. At least I had the folders to prove helpful.

I almost grew tired of to assimilate through so much evidence to prove Max's innocence already, but I couldn't stop now. Whether it meant to bust Max out of her imprisonment or to make Chloe like me again by proving as much loyalty to her as I possibly could, I was always accountable.

Chapter 8 Part 2 Has Been Through Hell

Max

April 17th, 2014

9:22 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Arcadia Bay Courthouse

The next witness to testify was Dr. Sorenson. He was to show the court my abilities to control time via camera footage that would be projected on a projector screen set up in the courtroom. He was to show footage of me using my powers during my session in the test chamber back at Chrysalis HQ. The lights in the room had to be turned off in order to see the projected footage like when you would see a movie in a theater.

I only wondered what had kept Rachel from proving my innocence? Whatever it was, I know it can't be easy for her considering she was still a Chrysalis fugitive. What if she had surrendered instead of me? I'd probably do the same only that the difference between me and her was that she must of gained herself more intelligence and experience with Chrysalis activity and I hadn't. That was on of several reasons I chose to surrender over her.

My trial resumed with Sorenson up on the stand, the lights turned off, the footage projected on screen, and Crosby questioning Sorenson himself.

"I had been researching Max Caulfield's abilities for two days," said Sorenson. "Since then, I've been amazed at what she could do. Each and every ability Max obtains is powered by a source that me and my researchers call chronon energy."

"Could you show and tell this court what amazes you about the defendant?" asked Crosby.

Sorenson first projected footage of me rewinding time.

"As you can see here," he began. "Max first and foremost is capable of rewinding time in order to differentiate what happens before in order to fix what happens after. For instance, when the objects she shoots down burst apart, the rewind power reverses the velocity of the broken objects back to solid form. It also has an effect on living organisms as well."

Sorenson next projected footage of me shooting the simulated people from the test chamber.

"When Max shoots down the simulated individuals, she can use her rewind to prevent the killing of a living person or thing caused by a shooting, stabbing, or any other lethal gesture that could harm a person to his or her demise."

Every demise I've prevented would've made fine example of what Sorenson just spoke of. Nathan or Jefferson shooting Chloe, Kate throwing herself off the edge, Chloe shooting Frank, even Jefferson shooting David in the Dark Room when I was being rescued. Sorenson then projected footage of my combat skills and time blast.

"This next footage your about to see is Caulfield's capability of combat and blasting through heavily objects. As you can see here, Caulfield can be sensitive to gunfire. Prompting her to dodge bullets in less than a nanosecond. She can also dash towards her opponents causing them to be pushed away, freeze her opponents via time stop that allows her opponents to subdued from motion, and best of all, she can use a time shield that can protect her from any projectile that could kill or injure Caulfield. Last but not least, a little cherry on top of the whoop cream."

Sorenson then shows footage of my time blast.

"Caulfield can charge her chronon energy into a formidable time blast capable of combusting through heavy obstacles. Such as barrels, crates, metal cubes, etc. Once her time blast is fully charged, she can thrust it and unleash it into anything in it's path. Causing a devastating blow toward anything that comes in her way. However, executing this ability can consume a majority of her chronon cells that power her powers."

"Are there any side effects we should know about her power?"

"There are several side effects to her power as a matter of fact. Depending on how much and how long she's consumed or exhausted her chronon cells; it can cause nose bleeding, headaches, insomnia, paranoia, schizophrenia, etc. In fact, the chronon particles in her blood not only advance on these side effects, but also become the source of a syndrome known as Chronon Syndrome."

Sorenson projected x-rays of my body up on the projector screen.

"Here's an x-ray visual of Max's body without chronon cells. And here's one of her with the cells in her body."

The x-rays made a comparison between the two. The clean version showed no signs of chronon cells. The unclean version displayed auras all over my body showcasing sign of my chronon infected body. The crowd began to murmur a bit when they had seen the infected version of it. Surely, they've seen nothing like. Sorenson used a laser pointer to point out my signs of infection.

"It would appear her chronon energy has been infecting her for months now," said Sorenson. "Although, there is a drug/vaccine for this infection that can ease most of her side effects and cease her Chronon Syndrome. According to Caulfield's medical perscription record, she has been taking one of our pharmaceutical drugs called Chronox. A drug capable of vaccinating Chronon Syndrome to cease the host from disease or death. We understand Max has been taking these drugs via pills in order to achieve her vaccination. As long as she keeps that, there's nothing to worry about."

"Do you believe her powers can have an effect of releasing supernatural disasters? The tornado storm that struck Arcadia bay for instance? As a follow up question, how has Max been through living with this syndrome of hers?"

"First of all, we've been asked the first question countless times and countless times the answer is always we don't know. Second, Max Caulfield has been through hell."

 **Note: So just remember guys, before Max's troubles with Chrysalis started, she had a prescription for Chronox via pills she had to take every morning. Only to be believed at the time from others, such as her parents, that it was only a medical problem that could be solved by therapy. When the reality of her problem was her source of her powers.**

 **I would also like to say forgive me for using character that were never there during Rachel's time at Blackwell. I've never done too much research behind the Life is Strange lore, but I'll be sure to do my best to acknowledge that next time. I only wanted to use some of the filler characters we already knew from season one.**

 **That's it for now guys. Until next time, stay golden.**


	9. Incentive

Chapter 9 Part 1 Getting Out

Rachel

April 17th, 2014

9:32 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Arcadia Shipping Docks

I stuff the files in my bag and cautiously step out of the container closing the door behind me gently without detection. I needed a way out of the docks quickly. I don't want to overstay my welcome here like me and Chloe had back at the Prescott Estate.

Same drill as always. Use my time vision, check my corners, take out any resistance, and so on. Even when I stick to my strategies when it comes to stealth, it would all be more easier said than done considering I needed a way out of this town as I needed a way in. Maybe if I could find another vehicle, I could hide in one and use the same method I used to get in just to get out. With that said, there was no time to lose. If there was going to be vehicle exiting the docks, I needed to find one ASAP. Otherwise, my escape is a bust.

When I get past every Chrysalis Guard and Dock Worker and reach to the front gate, there was another truck making it's way for the exit. Without thinking twice, I check my surroundings and make way for my ticket out of Arcadia Bay. I hop inside the trunk of the truck like a ninja and I'm completely hidden without a trace hiding inside a Chrysalis vehicle again.

The gate had opened and the truck started moving. Hopefully I wasn't going to have to hide in another crate again. Which I'm sure I wasn't. The truck drives two miles down the road away from the docks. By now it have driven past at least five blocks or so before it could exit the town. The shipping docks was at least five clicks ahead of the city entrance. I have to be at least half way there before exiting the city limits.

However, before the truck can make it out of town, it has to come to a stop at a gas station. Now I was screwed. How is a fugitive supposed to get herself out of town if her driver has to get gas and take a piss? I couldn't just sit in the trunk and wait making myself vulnerable to being spotted inside. Otherwise, I could just leave the vehicle and find another way to skip town. Either way, I had to think things through. If I stayed in the truck, it still might be more of a walk in the park out of here. If I left, maybe I could find a manhole in the road and use the sewer pipes to get out of Arcadia. The choice was up to me.

 **X/SQUARE/LM - STAY IN THE TRUCK**

 **B/CIRCLE/RM - LEAVE THE TRUCK**

I wasn't sure how long I had to wait in this truck and I wasn't just going to sit in here and find out. And so I left the damn vehicle behind. When I got out, there wasn't to many Chrysalis personnel from my surroundings. Since I was at gas station that is.

I kept my hood and mask on as I casually made my way to the sidewalk. There wasn't to many people on the sidewalk. Chrysalis personnel especially. So I was at least lucky enough not to easily expose myself where I was walking. I'd also walk by wanted posters with my picture and name on. Which I assumed replaced all my missing posters Chloe had displayed all over town when I first went MIA from Arcadia Bay. The wanted posters would say:

 **WANTED**

 **RACHEL AMBER**

 **Fugitive of Chrysalis**

 **Wanted for Conspiracy**

 **Age: 19**

 **Height: 5' 5''**

 **Weight: 110lbs**

 **Hair: Blonde**

 **Eye Color: Hazel**

 **If any individual has any info related to this fugitive, please contact Chrysalis authorities immediately. Anyone found harboring this fugitive will be charged and prosecuted for treason as a felony and misdemeanor to Chrysalis. See additional details below.**

I can't imagine what they'd do to Chloe if they had found out she had been harboring me this whole time. Good thing I picked spot ten miles away from town and away from Chrysalis's radar. As long as there was that, Chloe was safe from her conviction of treason. Just how much longer can we keep it that way?

As I walk by with my hood and mask on, I walk past a pedestrian or two on the sidewalk. There were a few people who stared at me suspiciously wondering why I had my face covered, but at least it didn't draw to much attention to myself as it would for Chrysalis operatives patrolling the town. Speaking of which, there would be a Chrysalis vehicle or two that would drive by where I was walking and would have to hide behind a parked car or wherever else I could hide from plain sight. I also had to use my rewind power so I wouldn't be seen as well. Just like Max would whenever she's in danger.

The longer I stayed in Arcadia, the longer I was exposing myself to my apprehension. I had to find a way out of town fast. Eventually, a manhole in the middle of the street caught my eye and I knew it would be my gateway to freedom. I checked my surrounding via time vision and normal vision before I made way for the manhole. When I did walk over to the middle of the road and reached the sewer hole cover, I needed something to pry it open with.

I reached for my bag and grabbed my crowbar I always carried inside. You could never know what you'll need when it comes to playing the Arcadia ninja. In other words, the Arcadia fugitive. It was hard to believe how the legendary Rachel Amber went from the town's idol to the town's criminal in a matter of months. No matter which word people used, Rachel's gotta do what Rachel's gotta do. Although half the town had been protesting against the Prescotts, Chrysalis, and Max's criminal activity, I just hoped there were people rooting for my side too. Besides Chloe.

Before I could pry the cover open, a Chrysalis car was approaching my presence. I panicked for a second. The I rewound to make sure I wasn't caught. Damn was this manhole a pain in the asshole to pry. I wondered if Chrysalis had rigged every manhole in town to prevent me from escaping or entering through the sewers. The car approached my again and I couldn't just keep rewinding to buy myself more time. And so I inevitably decided to confront my trouble and see how it would end.

Two Chrysalis officers stepped out of the car to confront me. I dropped my crowbar and waited for the guards to scold me. My mask and hood still covered my identity. At least they won't know who I am unless they want to.

"Ma'am, what are you doing here?" asked on of the guards. "Why are you messing around with that sewer hole?"

"Oh, I just...well...", I say before interrupted by the other guard.

"You were just illegally entering the sewer system is what you were doing," said the guard. "Remove your hood and mask and let me see your identification."

I hesitate. Nervousness strikes me. Either this was the part where I surrender and turn myself in like Max did or the part where I somehow resist arrest and elude capture.

"I'll ask you one more time, ma'am," the guard began to repeat. "Remove your hood and mask and let me see your identification."

This was it. It was over for me. They've caught me. Or have they? I couldn't forget about my mind-trick power I used on people. Even with the people I knew best such as Chloe and Frank. Either I mind-trick the guard or pretend to turn myself in and then strike against the Chrysalis officers. Mind-tricking them just may be the most obvious and easiest way out of it. Faking out my surrendering was going to be more challenging task to take on considering I would publicly expose my presence to the manhunt and media. However I was going to contemplate my arrest, the choice was mine.

 **X/SQUARE/LM - USE MIND TRICK**

 **B/CIRCLE/RM - FAKE ARREST**

I wave my hand in front of one of the officers in order to make his mind susceptive to my power.

"You don't need to see my identification," I say using my power.

"We don't need to see her identification," the guard said repeating after myself.

"Nor do I need to remove my hood and mask."

"Nor does she need to remove her hood and mask."

"I am not the person your looking for."

"She's not the person we're looking for."

"I can go about my business."

"She can go about her business."

"Move along."

"Come on. Let's move along."

And just like that, the officers reentered their car and drove away. Even though I was able to manipulate the mind of one guard, I didn't trust the other would be naive enough to absolve myself from the situation. Like Obi-Wan mind-tricking a Stormtrooper in Mos Eisley, my Chronon energy had a powerful influence on the weak-minded. As did the force in Star Wars.

I managed the fully pry open the manhole cover and enter the sewer system. As well as guiding myself through the sewer system to get out of town. When I just so barely made my way out of the woods, I exit through another hole outside the town limits and unanimously find my bike I hid in the bush.

I never imagined breaking and entering Arcadia Bay again would be a cake walk, but I did it. Thanks to my skill and power, I still had the documents on Neo-Chrysalis I stole from the docks in my hands. With that said and done, I strolled my bike out of the bush and back onto the road. I start the engine and ride my way back to the lodge.

Now that I had the documents with me, all I had to do was take 'em home and spend time searching them through. I was now yet one more step closer to liberating the Pricefield sever. Assuming I was one step closer, I had to make this one count. For Chloe. For Max. For Arcadia Bay.

Chapter 9 Part 2 Incentive

Rachel

April 21st, 2013

7:13 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Blackwell Academy

 **Sexy Chick - David Guetta**

After my conversation with Jefferson, I met back with Chloe as she let the Vortex Club group. God, Victoria really knows how to not lay aside our differences sometimes. I wonder if Chloe was still embarrassed about what she said. Next time, we won't go anywhere near her. How could I have been so stupid not to do that in the first place. I talk to Chloe when I meet with her again. She had a troubled look on her face and I did my best to make her chill.

"Hey, don't even sweat about she said," I say. "I'll be sure the next time we play guess who, Victoria won't be present, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Rachel. I say once a bitch, always a bitch."

"We've been calling each other that since me and her started hating each other."

"For fucks sake, Rachel. She embarrassed us in front of all her friends. Even Nathan was encouraging her. 'She just revealed your deepest darkest secret. You must be so embarrassed.' Victoria didn't even bother to take it back. How typical of her."

"Don't even pay attention to what Nathan said either, Chloe. If Victoria wants to get antsy with the Vortex, she'll get antsy with the Vortex Club."

"I'm getting bored just talking about how embarrassed I felt. Your the legendary Rachel Amber for Christ sake. You should be the host of this party. Why don't you just get out there and prove it to everyone."

"Prove it to everyone? What are you saying?"

"Maybe it's time people learned how much Rachel rules this school. Maybe this party needs a little more...incentive. Something that ought to keep this party rocking."

"You want me to take over this party is what your asking me to do?"

"Why not? Your good at being the master manipulator at Blackwell. I'd like to see you try. I dare you."

"Done."

I don't even resist Chloe's dare. I knew exactly how to manipulate people to my will. With my secret power of course. I never told a soul about my power at the time, especially Chloe. At least I knew how I could take control of the party with it.

I walk over to the dance floor in the gym and see Tara getting harassed by a boy hitting on her. Time for me to improvise.

"Don't be like that," said the boy picking on Tara. "I've got money. We'll go back to my place. I got simple taste."

"Fuck off, pendejo!" muttered Tara. "I'm a student. Not a hooker."

"You got a mouth on you! I'll enjoy watching you use it."

"The young lady asked you to step away, sir," I intevene.

"What the hell? I'm just looking for a good time," said the boy. "This isn't your business."

The boy takes a step forward where I stood as if we were about to push me in the pool. That's when I quickly wave my hand in front of him in order to capitulate what I tell him to do.

"As Rachel Amber, I'm going to make it my business," I said using my mind-trick.

"As Rachel Amber, your going to make it your business," the boy repeats.

"Do the girl a favor and walk away."

"I'll do the girl a favor and walk away."

The boy walks away and I save Tara from being harassed.

"Gracias Rachel," said Tara. "You just sparred me from suing a student for sexual harassment. The bouncers were asleep."

"Any time, Tara. Just another example of how I'm an everyday hero at Blackwell."

One down, a dozen more Blackwell attendees to go. I walk back to the concession bar and see Luke serving everybody at the desk now. I walk up to him to try another manipulating stunt on someone.

"Oh hey, Rachel. What'll have?" he asked.

"These are good students, Luke," I reply. "But they look bored. Bored students don't spend much."

"And you got an idea on how I could fix that?"

"A round of drinks shows you that you appreciate their education. Your Blackwell rep will improve and you'll make more friends in the end."

"Sorry, Rachel. As much as I respect your Blackwell rep, nothing in life can be free."

I wave my hand in front of him to control his mind.

"As Rachel Amber, an honor student of Blackwell, it is my knowledge that a round of drinks pays respects to those who've earned it."

"As Rachel Amber, and honor student of Blackwell, it is your knowledge that a round of drinks pays respects to those who've earned it."

"It'll be worth a try once and I may be right."

"It'll be worth a try once and you may be right."

"Tell everyone you love having them here and so does the beloved Rachel Amber. Then give them a round of drinks on the house."

"Listen up everyone! I love having you here and so does the beloved Rachel Amber! So a round of drinks on the house!"

With that said and done, the surrounding students crowded the concession stand to receive their free drinks. I was now kicking things up a notch. There was one more thing I could try in order to amp up everyone's incentive. I walk up to the dance floor in the gym and see Hadley dancing along. I walk up to her to adapt on my opportunity.

"Hey," I said to her.

"Hey," she says back.

"I'll dance next to you. If you want to think we're dancing together, go ahead."

"I do want to think that. Especially with the beautiful Rachel Amber."

I show off Hadley my sexy dance moves. The kind of ones I would show off to Chloe and Frank. Then Lyla came over to dance with us. She had already been impressed with moves just as well as Hadley had.

"Rachel, rock our girl!" she said dancing next to Hadley.

"Look who's the best dancer in Blackwell, Lyla! Everyone should see Rachel move."

I see Chloe walk by the dance floor call for her as she passes.

"Hey, Chloe! Come dance with us! I think have everyone's attention by now!"

"Really, Rachel? Come on, you know I can't dance well."

"Bullshit. We dance in your bedroom all the time. I really think I need my girl to be dance partner."

"Oh, what the fuck. You are my date after all. Let's dance!"

Me and Chloe dance together with other two girls and everyone else on the dance floor. Everyone dancing appeared to be liking the way we move and we just kept dancing like no tomorrow. Then suddenly, the DJ spoke on the microphone for a little announcement.

"Listen you boys and girls of Blackwell," said the DJ on the mic. "May I have your attention please. We all see to be laying our eyes on the popular Rachel Amber. It's time we treat her as the guest with a special song just for her!"

The DJ plays the song dedicated to me and it turns out to be everyone's favorite guilty pleasure song of all time.

 **Party Rock - LMFAO**

"Holy shit, Rachel! They're playing a song just for you!"

"Fucking A right there are! I guess that incentive did work after all! Let's rock this party to the ground!"

We laughed as the Party Rock song started blasting around the gymnasium. Before I knew it, there were students all over the place laughing dancing around. There were teens waving around foam noodles and splashing each other in the pool, taking their shirts off and swinging the around, you guess it.

Chloe and I kept dancing real hard on the dance floor while the party ran wild. I really wonder how Victoria must feel about this. Whether I pissed her off real hard or made her get super energetic as well, I didn't give a damn. There were also people giving each other piggyback ride and throwing themselves in the pool. Even me and Chloe did some crazy shit too. We took our shirts off and did a bunch of crazy dances together. Such as break dances and square dances. We even made out on the dance floor. God I'm such a master manipulator with my secret power.

The legendary me had done it again. Blackwell kept party rocking in the house as everybody kept having a good time. With a little love and heart for the Blackwell celebrity, I was bound to be a star in LA big time.

Or...maybe not.

 **Note: I hope that was an interesting flashback I've written. As you can tell, I managed to acknowledge some people that were there at Blackwell when Rachel was. Also, I've managed to showcase a little bit of Rachel's mind-trick power in both present day and flashback segments of this chapter. With a little Star Wars reference in the present portion.**

 **Until next time, stay golden.**


	10. Judge, Jury, Executioner

Chapter 10 Judge, Jury, Executioner

Max

April 17th, 2014

9:52 AM

Arcadia Bay Oregon

Arcadia Bay Courthouse

After Dr. Sorenson wrapped up his testimony on the stand, it was Principal Wells' turn to testify. All the equipment used to project my experimental footage and x-rays were taken down and lights were now back on. Crosby was the one to question Mr. Wells as he took the stand. And my trial resumed session.

"Mr. Wells, Max Caulfield has attended Blackwell since the beginning of the Fall semester of the current school year," Crosby began. "Starting with her Senior year and with a ranking of a 2.8 GPA. For starters, evidence claims that the defendant took advantage of her powers in order to prevent the suicide of Kate Marsh. Which is now confirmed to be true by Mr. Crosby. At the time of that incident, did Caulfield ever speak of her power at all?"

"Not at all, Mr. Crosby," replied Wells. "In fact, I've never heard of such power of hers until the morning I was informed by the District Attorney, yourself, and Mr. Prescott themselves. At the time of that incident with Ms. Marsh, I was only able to come to terms of admiring Ms. Caulfield's heroics of preventing that suicide attempt and determining why it occurred to begin with. In the end, the climax of that case turned out to be the responsibility of not only someone I can't name, but by Mark Jefferson. A once trusted faculty member who was then charged of a series of kidnappings and murders of other past female Blackwell attendees. But that's a whole another story compared to what this trial relates to."

Another censored Nathan reference spoken by Mr. Wells. As long as the Prescotts were present in this room, no one could speak of or use the name of their dead heir. Simple as that.

"What of the Blackwell shooting? You had stated in the media that if the hunt for Max Caulfield would go as far as assassinating her on the school grounds, you could've done more that what you prepared for the safety of everyone else on campus. Did you know this shooting was going to happen or did it not occur to you that it would happen from the start?

"I was told that the Chrysalis task force would only be there to apprehend Ms. Caulfield and that they would march into campus armed with firearms in case she resisted arrest and things got ugly. Turns out it became worse than I figured. Never in my years of running Blackwell have I had to confront such an atrocity of a school shooting. As a result, there were at least twenty or more soldiers killed on campus leaving a majority of both students and faculty outraged of the travesty. In the aftermath of the shooting, Chrysalis had to detain the school and make me reprimand the rest of the school day. Therefore, I should've known things would go from bad to worse when I didn't."

"When you look at Max Caulfield herself, who do you personally see before you? An innocent appealing teenager who works hard every day at school or a deceptive quantum terrorist disguising her self-indictment?"

"As far as Ms. Caulfield's reputation is concerned, she's an eccentric, but motivated and hardworking student at Blackwell. Not a quantum terrorist so to speak. The kind of word Chrysalis and Mr. Prescott perpetuates her to be. Despite her self-indictment, the only Max Caulfield I've ever known is the one who remains to be a good student knowing right from wrong. That is the only Ms. Caulfield I've come to know up until now."

Next up, Captain Cage on the stand. This time dressed in a coat and tie and not in military gear. How lovely to see ass show up to this court. I should enjoy what he has to say. I always thought of Cage to be a David version of Sean. Talks like a soldier, acts like a douche. At least David tries to be a more caring person than Sean does. Karen was the one to question him by the stand.

"Captain Cage, you were the person running the Chrysalis operation to apprehend the defendant that had started the Blackwell shooting," Karen began. "At first, you and your unit of Chrysalis operatives were given orders to take Caulfield alive. Then for some reason you were given orders to kill her on sight. The more reason there's protest at Blackwell and the rest of Arcadia Bay. Did you ever feel it was mistake being given those orders?"

"A mistake?", muttered Cage. "Besides from the fact that Caulfield shot down half of Alpha Team and the other half of Bravo Team single handedly, what choice did we have? We had to put her down. She ended being more dangerous to my men, good men of mine who always fought at my side in a war between the Chrysalis Corps and quantum terrorism, than I had figured. What would anyone else have done if she was too dangerous to apprehend?"

With all that said, I half expected Chloe to flip out again in court like she did with Prescott, but she stood down and put a zipper on her mouth like a mature young lady. Even Chloe wasn't cavalier enough to make the same mistake twice.

"If you and your men were to take Ms. Caulfield alive instead, that is if the defendant would have capitulated to you her arrest instead of resisting, would it have toned down the controversy Arcadia Bay remains today?"

"Ma'am, controversy or no controversy, we would've arrested Caulfield regardless. As a leader of the Chrysalis Corps, it's my duty to bring order and justice to the Quantum Crisis that is not only a threat to Arcadia, but a threat across the globe. When George Bush declared war on Al-Qaeda after 9/11, it was to prevail order and justice to that historical tragedy. Sean Prescott chose to do the same for Arcadia Bay when he

discovered that tornado storm was conducted by terrorist."

"Anything else you would like to share to this court that can testify against Ms. Caulfield?"

"Your honor, this may sound a little personal, but it's only something to testify against Caulfield."

"Say as you wish, Mr. Cage," said Jude Gareth.

"Believe or not, I lost my family to that tornado incident in Arcadia Bay," Cage admitted.

Well shit. Just another reason to call me a monster for what I've done. I blush for a second or two, but Chloe takes notice of me and tries to comfort me by putting her hand on my shoulder. Just to make sure I don't break down for what I'm about to hear.

"My wife, kids and I were visiting Arcadia to see my sister-in-law. When we first saw the tornado wind whirling around in the middle of the ocean side of Arcadia and everyone in town began to panic, my son was asking, 'Daddy, is the tornado going to kill us all? I'm sacred.' Then my daughter said, 'I'm scared too, Daddy. Are we all going to die?' I reassured the two of them, 'Don't worry you two. The tornado's not that close. It's not gonna hurt us.' It took me three days to find the bodies of my wife and children in the aftermath of that storm. Just when I thought I had left the war fighting quantum terrorist, that war was brought to my family. With that said, I'd be lying if I said if the blood isn't on Max Caulfield's hands. But it is."

I squint my eyes, blush my face, and cringe my stomach when those final words are said. If I even heard one more example of what blood I put on my hands just to live with my bluenette punk-angel forever, I was going to have a panic attack. Period. I calm myself down before I break down. Even Chloe couldn't cope with what Cage had to say to testify against me. I wonder how everyone else I'm close to feels about hearing this as well. Frankly, they would feel the same way no doubt. Insulted is how they'd feel.

"Another example of what it means to be a victim of quantum terrorism, good people of the jury," said Karen turning over to the jury. "I have said before that I too am a victim of that endeavor. If any one of you are victims also, then we can all relate to how if feels to falsely loose the ones we love dearly to such terrorism. And we can only avenge that terrorism by bringing it to justice. The one person you all know who is indicted to that terrorism to justice. Think about all that while you still can."

After hearing Captain Cage on the stand, it was now time for Chloe's testimony. At last, after hearing all this nonsense about my indicted terrorism, I finally get to hear Chloe testify on my side from her point of view. Presiding as my judge, jury, and executioner. I only wondered how well the judge and jury would be able to compensate what she was going to say on the stand. Crosby was the person to question her by the stand. Chloe looked nervous when she got up there. I really hoped Crosby knew where he was going with her testimony. Let alone what Chloe would say in a matter of cooperating. Only one way to figure that out.

"Ms. Price, you are Max Caulfield's closest and most dearest companion," Crosby began. "You have known each other since childhood and now the two of you have an affectionate relationship with each other. Also, it is said by Ms. Caulfield herself that from the very beginning, you were the first and only person to ever come to knowledge of her power. Now, if you don't mind me asking this as a first question, what happened that day? The day your Father was tragically killed in an accident?"

Why would Crosby ask Chloe about her Father dying? What does that have to do with anything? I'd assume it would be related to his statement or whatnot. Maybe he only asked my key witness in order to persuade the jury of my false accusation. Chloe still acted nervously, but a took a deep breath to sustain her confidence.

"It's alright, Chloe," Crosby assured. "I understand it's difficult. Just remember you are under oath for whatever you say."

Chloe gulped and began to turn her voice on.

"What can I say about loosing my Father," she began. "I was fourteen when it happened. It was just an ordinary day between me and Max and little did I know it just so turned out to be my Dad's last day on the planet. Not sure what that has to do with anything about this trial. Why do you ask?"

Crosby cleared his throat before he changed the subject.

"Ms. Price, as much as that was a day that changed your life, there could've been a day that would've changed Max's. That is why asked. Speaking of which, exactly what happened that day? The day you were assaulted in that restroom by you-know-who when Ms. Caulfield first had to save you with the help of her power? In fact, why don't you tell this whole court about that whole week between yourself, Max, and why she had to use her powers that first week before the storm. The people of Arcadia Bay want to know. The people of Arcadia Bay need to know."

Now we're getting somewhere. By now I wonder how Sean feels about referring his son in this court to you-know-who. I supposed as long as no one used the name Nathan, he would sugarcoat it more. More importantly, let's find out what the people of Arcadia Bay feels about the week of my origin story between me and Chloe.

"Okay, I'll tell you," she says

When Chloe tells our story to the court, she spares not one missing detail about it. From the bathroom to the cliff where the lighthouse stands. Everything.

She starts off with the fight between her and Nathan without using his name and how I was able to use the fire alarm to divert Nathan from harming Chloe. Then the part where I run into her in the parking lot when Nathan picked on a fight with Warren. And then the part where we danced in Chloe's room while she was stoning. And finally the part where I first tell Chloe about my powers at the lighthouse and my vision of the storm.

Chloe is able to talk about the rest of our story throughout that rest of the week. When she speaks of the following day, she speaks of the part from using my power at the diner, to the junkyard, to the train, to Kate, to even the night we snooped into the Principle's office and the Blackwell pool. Then the next day where she dared me to kiss her in her room, to taking sides with Chloe against David, to breaking into Frank's RV and finding out about him and Rachel, etc. Of course, I wouldn't have known to much about what we did the rest of that day since I ended up traveling to the next world where William was alive and Chloe was in senile mode and loathed the word 'hella'.

Disregarding what happened in that time stream, she definitely brings up the following day where everything was back to normal. From visiting Kate in the hospital, to Warren knocking the shit out of Nathan, to the Dark Room and Rachel's buried doppelganger, you know what. When she got to the part where we went to the Vortex Club party to find Nathan and warn Victoria, she talked about how I time traveled to save her again and warn her about Jefferson. Considering how I was able to prevent myself from getting kidnapped to the Dark Room myself and getting Chloe killed by Jefferson, it was obvious she would tell that part of the story from her point of view.

The crowd in the gallery behind me begins to murmur about what they were hearing. Since my parents, Chloe's parents, and everyone else I knew were present in this court, I hoped they had fully grasped what Chloe and I had to go through that week. Which I had no doubt they already had with all that said from Chloe on the stand. They all had the right to understand. The right to know what it was all about. They all deserved to know how and why that week occurred. When Chloe reaches to the climax of that week, that is when she starts to get emotional.

"I carry Max all the way up to the lighthouse for the next half hour until she wakes up when we reach the cliff side," Chloe continued. "When we're up on that cliff, that's when she admits that the storm was hers. I tell her to screw all that. If it weren't for her power, not only would I not be alive, but we wouldn't have been able to know what happened to Rachel and everything else we were able to achieve that week. She is no time goddess or quantum terrorist. She is my friend. My lover. My little doe. And then..."

Chloe takes a deep breath before opening her lips to let out those one words I certainly knew she was about to let out.

"And then I finally make her do something I never wanted to do and she never wanted to do either. I give her the photo she took in that bathroom before the fight between me and you-know-who. She would be able use that picture to change everything that happened that week. Assuming it would prevent that storm and prevent those six-hundred deaths that were caused by it. In order for her to do that, she would...she would..."

A tear begins to roll down her check. Now the people of Arcadia will start remorse for the two of us.

"She would have to let me die and let you-know-who kill me," she muttered.

The crowd murmured again when Chloe finally got to spit it out. Joyce and David blush about what they had heard their daughter say on the stand. Now I wasn't the only person that felt insulted about sacrificing the most imperatively beloved person in my life. Perhaps this ought to persuade the jury to stay on our side. Just perhaps.

"Instead, she tore that photo away and let everyone die just so I can live longer," Chloe continued. Still shedding tears. "Out of all the people that died in Arcadia Bay, I deserved it just as less as everyone else. I'm just as much of a scapegoat to that atrocity the way everyone else is. Especially Max. I have the right to live. The right to be together with everyone I love, too. And the right to be saved by Max if I had to. If you all think for one minute that Max and I don't know how it feels to be sadistically sacrificed in vain, we damn well know how it feels precisely. I just want to say that if any one of your loved one were alive, I would not be. Nevertheless, I am grateful to be alive. So is my family. So are my friends. So is Max."

Chloe cupped her hand in front of her eyes. Still sobbing away about what she had to say. By now, everyone in the court starts mumbling to each other empathically about Chloe's testimony. Even my prosecutors, Karen and Burke, looked sympathetic about my girlfriend's words. The jury will have a lot to debate about between my crimes and sacrificing the life of Chloe to save six-hundred souls. If it really were my storm that is. If there's evidence to confirm me not liable for the storm that is.

"I have nothing else to say, your honor," said Chloe talking to the judge. "I hope I've said plenty already."

"As I've said before, ladies and gentlemen of the jury," said Crosby turning to the jury. "As much I cannot condone quantum terrorism, neither would I for unjustly made sacrifices. A tragedy for a tragedy merely ensures conflicts than it does resolve them. Max Caulfield could've easily sacrificed Chloe to prevent the atrocity we good people of Arcadia Bay confront today, but her profanity in loosing Chloe was too great to her. We are all obligated into our personal tragedies every once in lifetime that can easily devastate our lives in the blink of an eye. It'll get the greater of us. It can. And it will. And it is no hyperbole. This trial is no different from any other trial that has criminalized people with powers like Caulfield's. The combination of false sacrifice and mass tragedy is what makes everyone uncertain of this endeavor. If you good people of the jury are capable of returning the sorrow Ms. Price and Ms. Caulfield are showing, now is a greater time than any to do so now."

 **Note: So I'm posting this chapter in time for my birthday my fellow readers. I've just turned 19 today. I also wanted to spend sometime making Chloe's testimony as perfectly written as possible. And I hope it was worth my time folks.**

 **Until next time, stay golden and wish me Happy Birthday!**


	11. What Selfishness Looks Like

Chapter 11 Part 1 The Faintest Idea

Rachel

April 17th, 2014

12:26 PM

10 Miles From Arcadia Bay

Kettle Lake Lodge

 _"The continuation of Arcadia Bay Versus Max Caulfield leaves the jury baffled between the mass tragedy of hundreds of victims of quantum terrorism and Caulfield's personal ego,"_ said Brock Kent the news anchor on television. _"Witness Captain Clayton Cage, a commanding officer of Chrysalis Corps who had lead the operation that placed the Blackwell shooting in effect, stated he had lost his wife and offspring as a result of the storm caused by quantum terrorism striking Arcadia Bay. While witness Chloe Price, childhood friend and romantic interest of Caulfield, stated she had offered Max Caulfield her life in exchange of the lives lost to the terrorist attack that would supposedly prevent the devastation that has made Arcadia history today. Meanwhile, protest that have thrived the streets of Arcadia have transformed into violent riots against Chrysalis control and the Caulfield controversy."_

The TV had displayed shot of Arcadians rioting in the streets looting stores and throwing molotovs everywhere. Chrysalis riot teams held riot shields and nightsticks to subdue rioters from what there were doing. Though the riots were violent, they were just getting started. So they hadn't worsened. At least not yet.

 _"While Chrysalis riot teams take initiative to subdue the riot, a school protest at Blackwell continues to thwart against both Chrysalis control and the shooting that started it all."_

The screen showed Victoria and Kate rallying more students in the protest with megaphones in their hands. Kate was also carry a book in her hand too. A bible of some sort.

 _"Let Chrysalis know we will not tolerate their scrutiny of terrorism at Blackwell!"_ shouted Victoria on her megaphone. _"We are all good students at Blackwell! We have the right to stay out of Chrysalis control and the right to our own self-preservation!"_

 _"Max Caulfield is a girl who saves lives! Not takes them!"_ shouted Kate on her megaphone. _"Rachel Amber is a girl who inspires lives! Not sabotages them! Who is Chrysalis to be ever so hostile to criminalize the everyday heroes of Blackwell Academy? May God be our witness and may he forsaken the sins of Chrysalis that threaten our everyday heroes! May God forsaken them all!"_

The students being rallied in the protest held their picket signs, pumped their fists in the air, and all shouted 'yeah' like the roars of a thousand lions. The news cut back to another topic of the story with the anchor back on screen.

 _"At their press conference today, Senators Sean Prescott and Riley O'Donohue have made statements regarding the Max Caulfield case and quantum terrorism."_

The news transitions to Prescott's statement with him standing behind a podium in a room filled with the press and cameras flashing.

 _"We're at war. No one wants to admit it, but Arcadia Bay is on the brink of deterioration once more. Our good people of Arcadia's blood spilled on our soil was not only contemplated by a tornado storm conducted by quantum terrorism in general, but because of the self-indulgence of a girl's sought-after interest to keep the one most imperatively affectionate individual alive in her life. That girl is none other than public enemy number one: Max Caulfield. A girl who laid waste to our city trading in all of our loved ones for hers. A sacrifice made for one's personal ego is no sacrifice whatsoever."_

The news then cut to O'Donohue with his statement.

 _"People think martial law excruciates us. But it also protects us from whatever upcoming threat there might be. But the definition of protection should not be a synonym for tyranny either. Which is what Senator Prescott and the Chrysalis force he leads believes it to be. If we are to bring this terrorism that struck Arcadia Bay to justice, we must act accurately. And the criminalizing of Max Caulfield is not it."_

I turn off the television and stare back at the files I stole from the docks on living room table. I sit on the couch skimming and searching through all the files to investigate for more further evidence for Max's innocence to be proven. So far, all I've done this week is nothing but skimming through a bunch of do-dads for all the possible clues that could take me to clearing her name.

I've never been so busy playing X-Files with all these stolen files from the Prescotts and Chrysalis in my whole life. My whole I've been busy with such a better ambition than this. Like dreaming of rolling out the red carpet for the legend of Rachel Amber in LA. Talk about life being the way you predict it to be. Talk about confronting reality.

What if Jefferson didn't take me away to his Dark Room and then force me to leave Arcadia and never look back? Perhaps Chloe and I would be in LA by now living our dreams, but then Max still would've been back in town and she probably wouldn't have seen Chloe again. Chloe also wouldn't have been assaulted by Nathan in that bathroom either. You know what they say: There are no 'What ifs' in real life. Only 'Oh wells'. One of the most highly obligated and clichéd understatements of a lifetime.

The front door to my lodge opens. I turn around behind me to see Frank walk inside. I jumped when the door opened and he came in. He could at least knock on my doorstep. Like how everyone, especially me, knocks on his.

"Jesus, Frank. You startled me," I said. "You can at least knock you know. You know I always do. What are you doing here?"

"Just checking up on my princess," he said. "Making sure Arcadia Bay's so-called fugitive hasn't been taken away yet."

"I'm ten miles away from Chrysalis's radar in Arcadia Bay. Why would you think that? What is it that you really came here for?"

Frank walk up to the couch and leans forward by where I sit.

"Chloe told me you've busy searching through evidence that could potentially claim Max is innocent. What exactly have you found that might say so?"

"Just some history with the Prescotts and their relationship with quantum reality. Right now I'm looking through some files on the quantum terrorist group named Neo-Chrysalis and even now as Chloe's love of her life is being detained by Chrysalis, I haven't gotten the faintest fucking idea who the fuck set Max up into all this. Not even concisely."

"Why are you beating yourself over with this? You know Max won't be able to win this case."

"Don't say that, Frank. I'm doing this because one, I still care about Chloe. Two, Chloe had always told me all about Max more than she has told you. Three, you know how Chloe is when everyone that she loves goes away and is never seen again. Besides, all that Max has ever done to you is pull a gun on your ass when you pulled a pocket knife on Chloe's. Don't think I don't know that. Chloe told me so."

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that."

Frank then walked away from where I sat and to the front door to walk out.

"Hey, Frank."

"What!?"

"I'm sorry for bringing that up, alright? Take care. And thanks for checking up on me. Just leave here while you still can. Assuming you weren't followed if you know what I'm saying."

"I know concisely what your saying. Good luck with all that evidence. Your gonna need it."

Chapter 11 Part 2 What Selfishness Looks Like

Max

April 17th, 2014

1:30 PM

Portland, Oregon

Chrysalis HQ

I sit tight in an interrogation room handcuffed to the table and watching the news on a TV screen in the room while I wait for Chloe to enter. The news shows footage of riots in Arcadia Bay going rampant against Chrysalis while. It had shown footage of riots in the streets of Arcadia and mainly of a riot occurring near the Prescott Estate while Chrysalis riot teams were defending their property. Every rioter was either holding signs that said Chrysalis or Prescotts marked with a line through it, throwing molotovs around, tipping over cars, or breaking into places and looting.

What has my town become? Just when it had rebuilt itself from the destruction set up by the tornado, it was now tearing itself apart again because of my selfish actions. All this violence in Arcadia Bay because my beloved punk-ass is still alive. Irony is a powerful word indeed. So powerful, all it takes is the will of a single man or woman. It is I who is that single woman. All hail the conqueror. The one who sacrificed hundreds for one. The one who made a sacrifice for her own affectionate interest. The one who became the eye of the storm. Or had I?

Chloe now entered the room still wearing her formal vest and slacks she wears to court. She sat across from where I sat by the interrogation table handcuffed. I had waited for at least half an hour for her to show up. I was getting sick of wearing these less than comfortable cuffs for the past week in half now.

"Why did you drag yourself all the over here, Chloe?" I ask her. "I've been waiting for over half an hour and I'm getting tired of having to wear cuffs all day long."

"Crosby thought I should talk things through with you more," she answers. "He says the jury is requesting you to testify for yourself in court. They want your point of view from all this in order for them to make a verdict for our case."

"They want me to take the stand just for my POV? That's all you came here for? I don't know, Chloe. After that breakdown you had on that stand, why can't that be enough to consolidate the verdict?"

"Max, we both know my breakdown wasn't going to be enough to consolidate anything."

"Bullshit. You said it all yourself. You said everything that happened that week between you and me that could easily persuade the jury to stay on our side more. You're grateful to be alive. Despite Arcadia Bay degrading into a lesser popularity, you have the right live as much as everyone else did. Period."

"That means absolutely nothing to the jury, okay? I'm not saying they're siding more with your prosecution. I'm saying that they could be if there isn't any substantial enough evidence to clear your name off of Chrysalis's blacklist of quantum terrorist and my testimony wasn't it. Be yours could if you except their request. Otherwise, we're officially DOA on this case. Don't do this just for me. Do it for the people. Arcadia Bay is now in shambles with all those riot erupting in town and they all want the certainty of your innocence just as much as I do."

I turn my head away from where Chloe starred at me. I didn't even want to hear anything else she had to say.

"Max, are you even listening to me?"

"No, Chloe. I'm done listening to you. I grow tired of this lecture already."

"It's not a lecture, Max. This is an offer. A once in a lifetime offer to get you out of this shit-hole."

"You think by me going up on that stand and telling everyone in court how it feels to be a sorry shit who conquered Arcadia to live happily ever after with her punk-ass will get the jury to feel sorry for me and find me innocent?"

"Dammit, Max. Just stop talking and get with the program here, okay?"

"No you stop and get with the program. Look around, Chloe. It's over for us. There is nothing else we can do."

"Don't you fucking say that, Max! I think your forgetting about that promise you made me keep the day you walked out that door and surrendered yourself into this hell-hole. If there's even a fifty/fifty chance of us winning this case, the jury will need your support."

"That want my support? After what I've done to Arcadia Bay? What if someone in that jury had a friend or family member who died because of me and maybe has a grudge on my ass who would want me found guilty? My testimony would not be enough to persuade them. There needs to be some concise enough evidence to prove my innocence. You said you and Rachel found some evidence you stole form the Prescotts that could easily clear my name. If you want to keep your promise, why haven't I seen it? Why hasn't the judge or jury seen it? Just why!?"

"I don't know, Max! The evidence Rachel and I found is only partial proof that's too insufficient for the judge or jury to determine your innocence. I'm sorry if this is bad timing, but Rachel's the only one would can do all the heavy duty while I have to be in court to support you."

"Do even want to know how it feels to be monster who has so much blood on her hands just to keep the love of her life alive? It's really ironic how the death of a young punk-girl can not only prevent the deaths hundreds, but also the shit storm Arcadia is suffering because of my selfishness. This...this is what selfishness looks like!"

I point my head towards the television screen in the room to present my example of my selfishness. I'd normally point with my finger, but hands were still cuffed to the table. The screen was still showing news footage of riots breaking out in Arcadia with rioters still throwing flammable projectiles around, getting beaten by soldiers with nightsticks and even getting pepper sprayed in the eyeballs. The people of Arcadia deserve far more than this and I was the monster who had to watch them suffer as I've suffered.

"Max, are you even hearing yourself? As far as Rachel's evidence is concerned, the only monsters that have so much blood on their hands and made people suffer is possibly Neo-Chrysalis. When are you going to stop calling yourself monster for something you know you never did? When are you going to start thinking to yourself that it was never your storm that did this?"

"When you starting showing me and everyone else that this Neo-Chrysalis is sufficiently the one responsible. That's when. Whatever bullshit evidence you and Rachel found to help me out ought to get me to stop guilt-tripping over some bullshit storm."

Chloe sighed.

"Max, there are two doors you can enter right here, right now. Door number one, I could die by the hands of Mr. Dickbag the Asshole and be buried underground in my Dad's grave knowing a lot more people could live in Arcadia Bay no matter how personally tragic it could for my Mom, David, and yourself. Door number two, you can let everyone die in a storm just to keep me alive and even though the consequences are more severe, you'll be lucky enough I'm still breathing air long enough to be here for you when you alas pay the price for what you did. You had already walked through door number two when you tore that picture at the very place we both watched everyone die in town rejecting my death wish. And here we both are facing the consequences of that choice you made at the lighthouse. That is the fate you made for both of us."

"Every minute I waste listening to this constant lecture of yours is every minute procrastinated from finding the fuckers who framed me. Not to mention the end of time is still coming. Something extremely worse than a tornado storm. I'm sorry I brought that up again, but this trial is too futile for me to withstand. One way or another, you have to get me out of here so I can finish what I started and continue my obsession in finding answers to when the end of time is coming and how to stop it from coming."

"Until we find answers that rectify your innocence, only then can we find answers to stopping this end of time thing of yours. I don't have much time with you in here, so you need to make a decision now, Max. Either take that stand or you don't. The choice is yours."

 **X/SQUARE/LM - TAKE THE STAND**

 **B/CIRCLE/RM - REFUSE THE STAND**

"You know what, I'll take the stand. As long as Rachel's money is on the table, I'll take it."

"You won't regret it, Max. You do the right thing for me, I do the right thing for you. As long as this trial hasn't come to it's consensus, we still have hope of winning. We really do."

 **Note: Needless to say, I wanted to post this last night, but I got busy playing some Infinite Warfare and Resident Evil 7 DLC. Same old excuse. Also wanted to make Max and Chloe's conversation in the interrogation room as perfectly written as possible. Just taking my time.**

 **Before I go, I want to say Happy Super Bowl weekend my fellow readers! If any of you will be watching the Super Bowl tomorrow, it wouldn't hurt to let me know in the reviews.**

 **Until next time, stay golden!**


	12. Heartless

Chapter 12 Here's To Us

Rachel

April 21st, 2013

7:41 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Blackwell Academy

 **Heartless - Kayne West**

After partying wildly on the dance floor with Chloe, I split up with her and decided to go back to the concession stand for another drink. I stood there at the counter waiting to order while Kayne West music was playing in the gymnasium. The party began to calm itself down once we were all done party rocking to 'Party Rock'.

While I stood at the stand, Nathan showed up to get a drink too. Nathan looked exhausted. He was probably all partied out from party rocking to my DJ song or something. Guess he stopped by for some energy.

"Nathan, what are you doing here?" I ask.

Nathan folded his arms on the counter and laid his head down tiredly.

"Ugh...escaping," he replied.

"Escaping? From what? Too much party rocking for ya?"

"Nah, ever since my family started getting into politics, it's been nothing but work."

"Has your Dad been riding you?"

Nathan lifted his head off the counter and looked me in the eye as we continued our conversation.

"Bah! Not my asinine Father. No, it's...it's Pan Estates, Rachel. Now that my parents are trying to run everything in town and funding for the rich neighborhood, ugh, I haven't slept in...I don't know how long."

Nathan laid his head back on the table. Then Kelly came by to serve our refreshments.

"Can I get you two anything?" she asked.

"Two more drinks, and another bag of ice," replied Nathan.

Kelly walked away from the counter to find us drinks to be served. I continued chatting with Nathan as we waited.

"I would've thought you'd be enjoying the perks of being a Prescott," I said.

Nathan lifted his head again.

"Enjoying it? There's a line of finance and revenues outside my dwelling right now. Stretches on for as far as you can see. I had to sneak out of my own dorm room window. Even then, I was cornered by David Madsen on the way to this party."

"And it's just you? They're not spreading the love around?"

"Sure, but everyone wants their first time welfare in generations to be strong and fit. I'm the heir to the Arcadia Bay Prescott family. It's my future to bring order to this town. Everyone in Arcadia wants a piece of me. And Victoria, she's no help at all. She encourages it. I'm telling ya, Rachel. I'm in no shape to run the Vortex Club."

"Considering everything we've been through, I can think of worse positions to be in."

"Trust me, I've been in every position in the past few days."

Kelly returns and serves us two cups of soda with the ice bad Nathan requested.

"Here are your drinks," she said. "And a bag of ice."

I stare at Nathan. Still looking overwhelmed about his family's debt and interest. Nathan was always a nice guy to me. Even had a crush on me and would sometimes hit on me as well. I even begin to think he had feelings for me also. But we were just close friends at best. I've already established plenty of affairs between me, Chloe, and Frank. Right now, Nathan was in no shape to be making love or taking a hit with me.

"Hey, Rachel, come here!" A voice called out.

It was Jefferson again. What did he want now? We already had out talk about going to California together for my apprenticeship with him. I walk over to Jefferson to hear him out.

"What is it, Mr. Jefferson?" I ask. "Something wrong?"

"Oh no, Rachel. Nothing wrong. I just wanted to inform you of something."

"Inform me of what?"

"The Prescotts called and said they were cutting ties from me. So I believe that spares us the delays for our plans over the summer."

"Really? That does mean we-"

"Yes, Rachel. We're free to go."

"Yes! That's what I'm talking about, Jeff!"

Jefferson smiled and chuckled. I give him high five before we walk out. Before my talk between me and him ends, Nathan slips something inside my drink while I'm not looking. I say bye to my mentor before I walk back to the counter.

"I look forward to our journey of a lifetime, Rachel," he says. "Have a good night."

"You too, Mr. Jefferson. I'm now even more anxious to fulfill my dreams."

I walk back to the counter with Nathan as he places the bag over his forehead to cool himself down of his stress.

"Mmm. I thought all my medical procedures were painful," he says putting the bag down. "Ah, well."

I stand next to Nathan as he puts the bag down and we resume our discussion.

"Shit, Rachel," he continues. "We sure have been though it, haven't we?"

"Still going through it," I say smiling and nodding.

Nathan laughed. Feeling a little better than before.

"True," he said. "Well, here's to us. And to going through it."

"I'll drink to that."

He have our toast and take a sip of our drinks. Unaware of what Nathan put in mine. Then we put our cups down finishing our toast.

"May the heard guide us all," said Nathan. "It's my family motto."

"Your family's a heard, huh? You've got real rich family, Nathan. A really big, rich, and powerful family. The most wealthiest family on the planet."

Nathan slammed his head back on the counter.

"Agh! More ice!" He grunted.

I walk away from the counter leaving Nathan to mope to himself to find Chloe in the building. When I do, I could feel something aching in me body. But the pain was minimal. It wasn't bothering me that much. Not yet. I see Chloe again and talk to her before doing anything else.

"There you are, Rachel," she said. "Where were you?"

"Just chilling with Nathan and having drinks with him at the concession stand. Why?"

"Why? I gotta go. That's why."

"You're leaving already? Why?"

"My Mom called and said I have to come home. She doesn't like me out this late unless I let her know. Neither does Step-Ass. You know how he feels about that."

"Right. You sure you don't just want to stay here a little longer? You can let you Mom know."

"No, Rachel. I'm already exhausted and party rocked as it is. So, I'll see you tomorrow."

"You too, Chloe. Take care."

Little did I know, those would be the last words I ever said to Chloe. The last time I ever see Chloe again. I feel raunchy headache in my brain. It stings. For some reason, I felt exhausted. My pain was starting to get worse. So much worse, I made a run for the bathroom in the building. And I did.

Chapter 12 Part 2 Heartless

Chloe

April 17th, 2014

7:42 PM

10 Miles From Arcadia Bay

Kettle Lake Lodge

I arrive back at Rachel's place after a long and exhausting day testifying for Max in court, traveling all the way to Portland to see Max again at Chrysalis HQ, and getting past excruciating traffic jams effected by the riots in town. I wondered how Blackwell was able to handle their protest on campus? Hopefully, things weren't getting worse over there as it was for the rest of town.

When I parked my truck in the driveway and walked inside, the lights were turned off in every corner of the lodge. I turned on a few lights by the front door just to see where I went inside. Before I called out for Rachel, she popped her head through a door to the computer room and saw me come inside.

"Chloe, there you are!" she shouted running to me and hugged me. "Where've you been all day!? I've been worried sick. I was beginning to think Chrysalis found out you've been harboring my ass and took you away or something."

"I'm fine, Rachel," I said releasing her from our hugging grip. "Jeez. Haven't you heard? You don't even want to know how bad it's been in town. I got stuck in traffic for three hours. Plus, I had to make a trip to Portland and pay Max a quick visit. What have you been up to?"

"I've heard about how worse it's gotten in Arcadia. It's horrible. Anyways, you're gonna want to see this. Come here."

I follow Rachel back into the computer room to see what's next on her angle in all this misery. In the room, she shows me some files she had stolen from Chrysalis.

"These are some files I stole from a shipping container that was carrying intel on Neo-Chrysalis," she said. "I managed to infiltrate into town and find my to the Arcadia Docks where stole all these files."

"I snuck your into town to get all this stuff?" I ask. "Were you caught!?"

"No, I wasn't caught. I barely managed to not expose my presence just to get these. Now listen. These files have records on quantum terrorist attacks constructed by Neo-Chrysalis. There doesn't seem to be any records stating they've attacked Arcadia Bay, but here's a little cherry on top of the sundae. There's a file that has a record on one of Neo-Chrysalis's leaders, Alexei Ranikov. It says here that there had been sightings of Ranikov in almost every city in Oregon. From Salem, to Pacific City, to Portland, and even Arcadia Bay."

"Arcadia Bay? You mean this Ranikov guy has been here before?"

"See for yourself."

Rachel shows me pictures of man with gray hair and a scar between the eye taken in the places he was sited. Including Arcadia Bay. Which was indeed the man she referred to as Alexei Ranikov. As I skimmed through the pictures, I noticed one picture of Ranikov taking a smoke by my Mom's diner. He had been there? How come neither me or Max have noticed this terrorist leader present in town? I assumed neither Max or I had been there when he was. Even if we had, he was dressed in casual clothing. Something that would make people suspect less of him being a terrorist anyhow.

"Holy shit, Rachel. This guy's been at Two Whales. My Mom's diner. Why haven't I seen him there?"

"I don't know. These pictures were only taken for recon. Nothing special."

"Nothing special? So how is any of this helpful if it's not that special?"

"My best theory is that if he were present in every one of these destinations, he was probably there plotting so kind of terrorist attack. One that would plot a set-up for anyone with super time powers. Like Max to be specific. Another theory is that he somehow eventually found out Max was the time traveler in town and selected Arcadia Bay to be the scapegoat. But then again, it's not sufficient enough proof to claim Max's innocence."

I sighed.

"No offense, Rachel, but as usual, nothing is ever on the cards with your ass now is there? We're running out time, Rach. Max is going to be taking the stand tomorrow which will be the last phase for her trial before the verdict is turned and we still haven't gotten a fucking clue if these Neo-Chrysalis assholes are the ones responsible. Let alone if this Ranikov prick is the one who plotted it all."

"Just give me one more day, Chloe. Okay? I still got to look through the last of these files and we'll lucky if I can decipher the last of this enigmatic evidence in time before the verdict is made. Hopefully, it just might claim what we need. It really could. We're so close to pulling this off, Chloe. I know we are. I can feel it."

I want to just walk out of the room and leave Rachel by herself in this hideout cabin of hers just for hearing all the usual bullshit she's given me since we first started viewing all the possibilities, but I know she's trying her extra hardest to make sure Max isn't behind bars forever. By now, she's deciphered the hell out of every last file to be viewed as possible evidence to my lover's innocence. I can't just push her to hard. Being pissed at her for leaving, cheating, and lying to me is one thing, but telling her I want the evidence right now is just too much. Like she said, we're so close to pulling this off. Even I can somehow feel it too.

"I brought some food here if you're hungry," said Rachel. "It's in the fridge if you want some."

"If I want some? Shit yeah I want some. Haven't eaten anything since noon-ish. What did you bring?"

"You like Chinese?"

I open the fridge in the kitchen and found little boxes of chow-mein, friend rice, and orange chicken. Delicious. I grab the food and some soda to drink and Rachel and I sit down on the couch and watch some Comedy Central on TV while we eat. Watching cartoons like Archer and South Park.

I know we should be more engaged on Max's case, but it had been an exhausting day for both of us. We needed some time off for once. Arcadia Bay is in turmoil, Max is still a criminal, and we're sitting down eating Chinese and watching television. At least Rachel had done enough research for one day. Enough to get us just yet one more step closer to finishing our case once and for all. As long as Rachel acted like she was keeping up the good work, my confidence would ascend more.

"Chloe, there's something I need to tell you. Something I wanted to tell when I returned here when the right opportunity came. Now I believe is a good time as any."

"What Rachel? What do you have to tell me this time?"

"It's about 'us', Chloe. But not just us, but everyone else too."

"What about it?"

"When I first received my power, that was when I started being the Blackwell princess. It was what made me become a Blackwell legend to begin with. And it's something I'm not proud of."

"What do you mean?"

"I might've told you this before, but just vaguely. I was given the power to mind-trick people. Like Jedi mind-tricks in Star Wars. As well as the power to rewind time like Max has. I wanted to tell you before left you, but I never thought you would believe me at first."

"I was able to believe in Max's the first time around. Or at least the second. Why wouldn't have I not been able to believe in yours?"

"How was Max able to get you to believe in hers?"

"Same way you made me believe in yours. That's how."

"Let's just cut to the chase, Chloe. I abused my gift to the point where I made myself become overly successful in school and to the point where I got everyone in Blackwell to love me. People may think I'm a Blackwell legend. In reality, I'm a Blackwell fraud. I manipulated people with my mind trick and cheated my way into becoming an A plus student. Which is something I'm deeply not proud of. I even had nightmare about being punished for abusing my gift too. There's one person I'd never manipulate. That was you of course. I'd never manipulate a person I cared about."

"Well isn't that ironic. Max saves me all time using her gift and you manipulate everyone with your mind-trick except me. Still no different from Max, aren't you? Did ever manipulate Frank?"

"No I didn't. I'd never manipulate him either. God, Chloe. I thought Max was the victim, I really am selfish little shit. I didn't deserve my fame. I'm so ungrateful. I'm such a bitch. A stupid little bitch."

Rachel begins to break down a little, but I comfort her.

"Hey, Rachel, look me," I say holding her head with a tear in her eye.

"As far as the catastrophe in Arcadia Bay is concerned, we're all victims. Okay? You and Max are both obligated into having your powers and that's just fine. All that matters now is that we find out who really did all this and get Max's freedom. I don't care how long we play Law and Order: Arcadia Bay, I made a promise to Max that I'd help her find her innocence. And it's not to late to keep that promise. It isn't."

Rachel nods her head and wipes her tear. She really does care. And so do I. I can't believe it finally hit me, but it just did.

"When you came back to me last Friday, I thought I was dreaming," I continued. "Maybe having a nightmare even. But I wasn't. I was actually talking to a ghost. Someone important in my life that came back from the dead. And here I am actually accepting the fact that your still alive. Little did I know I'd lose Max again and have you as my replacement again. Or at least someone still living long enough to be here for me when Max isn't. To a woman so heartless."

Rachel takes my hand and holds it together. Once she does, I blush in bewilderment. I turn to Rachel and she gazes at me with a soft smile. Then I slowly smile back. It was happening again. I still love her, don't I? And she still loves me too. I must've gone love struck or something.

As I'm officially seduced into this spellbound feeling and stare into the young blonde's hazel eyes, I slowly move my head towards hers. I can feel the sting of romance imminent. I'm still in love with Rachel. But I'm still in love with Max, too. I can't have both. Rachel and I agreed to stick to just being friends. Now I feel like I'm about to cheat on my true lover who's now imprisoned by Chrysalis. Yet I'm still locked into making love with young woman next to me. The closer my head was retracting to Rachel's, the closer my lips were about to touch hers. The question is, will I or will I not?

 **X/SQUARE/LM - KISS HER**

 **B/CIRCLE/RM - DON'T KISS HER**

 **The xx - Angels**

Without reluctance, I finally press my lips against hers and show my same feelings I still had for her just a year earlier. I feel like shit for just pushing Max away, but she wasn't here to discover this. I knew it didn't give me the right to commit so, but to me, loving Rachel was the same as loving Max. I knew it was. Then we do more than just kissing.

The next thing we do is take out tops off. Rachel take her red shirt off. I take my vest off that was still wearing to court. I turn off the television and make out with Rachel some more.

When we're about to hit the hay, we take off the rest of our clothes and continue kissing. The two of us hit the mattress in the bedroom and continue to make love. God, I feel so in love again. Even if this was betraying my affection to Max, me and Rachel deserved this.

I keep pressing my lips onto Rachel's and touch her hips as she touches mine. Every move we make, every breath we take, is just another heartwarming moment away. We roll around a bit on the bed while we still make love to each other. I've never done anything this romantic my Valentine's Day date with Max. The only thing me and Rachel try to avoid is sex. We were on the bed to make love. Not have sex.

Rachel gets the upper hand and pins me down on the bed. Gazing down at me as I gaze back at her pretty little hazel eyes and gorgeous blonde hair. She's beautiful. Her ravishingly attractive look made me smile at her. She too smiled back. Then our lips made contact with one another again. Our sagacious and alluring way of romance. For a woman so heartless.

 **Note: Well, I just had to write a romance scene for these two. Despite Max and Chloe being made for this, they will have their moment in the future still yet to come. Writing this romance scene felt like the only way to avoid this chapter from being another filler one is all. I hope it was worth writing still.**

 **As usual, stay golden!**


	13. Revelations

Chapter 13 Revelations

Max

April 18th, 2014

1:38 AM

Portland, Oregon

Chrysalis HQ

I'm back in my shitty cell sleeping through the night. The thought of how my trial would end laments me. It's unbelievable how far my circumstance have exploited. It goes from an ordinary week in Arcadia Bay to a political shit-storm. From a day I was no one special to a day I'm known to be the conqueror of Arcadia. How much further can this scam of mine go before it's all over. Like William used to say: "If you get thwarted, c'est la vie." French for "that's life". If you ask me, that's the story of my life in retrospect.

I hear the voice call out my name again. The one that lead me to Chronos from before. My eyelids flinch open when I hear it again. I hear it the second time and don't hesitate to get off the bed and follow the voice once more. What was happening this time? Where would I be taken to this time? What would I be shown that I have yet to uncover this time?

I open my cell door and this time I don't walk into the hall. This time, I walk into nothing but pitch blackness. No room, no hallway, no nothing. Just a field of dark surrounding me. I take a few steps through the door and then the door slams shut from behind me. I jump a little turning around to see no cell door behind me. Then I back to my front side again to see a tree with electrocuting branches. Another vision I first encountered back in Seattle. What have I returned here for now?

Then I here something unusual. I hear the sound of a baby crying. It was coming from where the tree stood. Why was I hearing the sobbing and waling of an infant child? The only way to know why was to follow the baby's crying voice up ahead.

I reach the electrical tree and find a baby crib standing next to it. I look over the crib and find a baby crying in it. The baby was wrapped in a blanket and laid there sobbing it's eyes out. I pick up the infant and hold it in my arms. There's a tag on the child's blanket that reads a name. I lift it in front of me and it reads... **Maxine**.

"What the?" I say to myself.

Suddenly, I'm transitioned into a room with baby toys and a music box playing in the crib. Wowsers, this was my room when I was only a baby. I'm carrying my one-year-old self in my own arms. I looked so adorable at this age, I smiled down at my infant self before setting myself down in my own crib. The question is, why have I jumped 18 years in the past?

When I set my infant self down on the crib, a door opens next to me and I gasp. It had been my parents walking into my room. My parents looked eighteen years younger when they walked in here. My Dad hadn't grown a beard and my Mom had different hairstyle when she was eighteen years younger. My parents' younger selves didn't seem to notice me. Only because I was obviously traveling through time residually.

"Hi there, Maxi-Poo!" said my Mother in her baby tone. "How's our little munchkin."

"Is our little Max ready to get out of her crib and out of the house?" asked my Father in his baby tone.

My infant self responded in her baby language joyfully. Meaning she was excited to go out with her parents for the first time as a one-year-old.

"Alright then," said my younger Father. "Let's get you out of that crib now, shall we?"

My younger Dad grabs my one-year-old self out of my crib and take me out of the room as both my younger parents leave. It was beautiful seeing my juvenile self being raised by her lovely parents, but why had I been brought back to this point in time? My visions must be taking me somewhere and I knew it had to be far from done.

I walk through the door exiting my babyhood room and I enter a frozen forest. I'm back in Elysium again. Of course I am. Now I just needed to know where to go next. The door behind me disappears in thin air and I proceed across the snowy woodland. Before I go any further a voice from behind me stops in my tracks.

"Hello there, Max Caulfield," said the voice from behind.

I immediately turn around to see a boy in an orange jacket and red hair. My heart begins to race the second I see the rich child who once threatened the love of my life at gunpoint in a filthy-ass bathroom.

"Welcome to paradise," he said. "Or should I say, Elysium."

"Nathan? Is-is that really you?"

"Nah, it's Pinocchio. No shit it's me. You've act like you've seen a ghost."

"I might as well have. Why are you here? Why am I here?"

"Same reason everyone else is going to be here in matter of days. I'm only here because I was shot to death by Mr. Jeffershit in a junkyard. This might as well be heaven."

"Heaven? What's going on here? What the fuck is Elysium really?"

"It can be whatever it wants to be."

The ghost of Nathan Prescott presented what Elysium can be by transitioning us to different environments. The first environment we transition to is a forest with autumn leaves on the ground as well as a grove filled with trees colored in autumn leaves.

"It can be an autumn forest," said Nathan's spirit.

Then we transition into a more tropical climate where we stand on beach harboring an island of palm trees and where seagulls were chirping in the sunny sky.

"A tropical island," continued Nathan.

And then we transition into a field of grass where the wind blows and tall grass grows.

"A grassy plain field," Nathan still continued.

And finally, we go back to the frozen woods where the sky is dark and the snow falls slowly.

"Or a frozen forest. Whichever one you prefer."

"Why are you really here, Nathan? You must have a better reason for making me talk to ghost than to show me the places Elysium can be."

"I do have a better reason actually. In fact, I'm here to answer all you questions, Max. The answers you need to understand what was really going that week. You know which week. Starting from the day I drew a gun on your girlfriend to the day the storm purged the city. It's time you learned the truth of what I was really up to that week. But first, I'm gonna let you say hi to Mr. Chronos for me. I believe you already met him."

Nathan's ghost vanishes into thin air. Leaving me to deal with Chronos alone in the frozen forest. I turn back to where I was walking and see hooded figures walking through the woods. The same figures I had seen during my last visit to Elysium. They all appeared to be walking in the direction I was going and seemed to be gathering at some place. For all I knew, the were monks of the Order of St. Loomis and I supposedly had to follow them. Perhaps they would take me to Chronos.

As I was following the hooded monks, they were whispering and murmuring in the dark woods saying the words "gabba cabba" again. What did those words even mean? It had to be a language of some sort spoken by the order or something. During my following of the crowd of monks, I eventually came across a massive steep ditch in the center of the woods where a lake was at the bottom. That was where the monks were all gathering.

I slid down the steep hill and carefully landed on my feet when I reached the bottom. I steadily walk across the lake. My feet were freezing. If I was in a frozen forest, I was on a frozen lake. As I walked my way over to the center were the monks were being gathered around, Nathan's ghost appeared again and walked right next to me.

"Scary shit, isn't it?" said Nathan. "You'll see what's really going on in a few minutes."

"What the fuck is going on here, Nathan? I get that your only here because your dead and your ghost coming to haunt me, but who are these people? What are they doing here? What are they saying?"

"You'll get the answer to that question when you see Mr. Chronos. Have a nice day."

Nathan's ghost evaporates again. When I made it over the center of the frozen lake, a majority of the monks were already gathered around. A platform had risen from the lake levitating in mid-air while a portal of some sort in the sky was opening. Revealing to be an entry for the deity of St. Loomis. It was Chronos descending from the sky and slowly landing on the platform that was risen.

As soon as the God of Time landed on his feet on the platform, stepping stones were being risen up front for him to walk down on. The monks were all bowing before Chronos as he descended down the steps. I stood there and watched the shadow-like God approach me. Waiting for him to open his demonic voice again.

"May the order be witnessed," said Chronos. "The traveler has returned again for her revelations. It is time she learned the true complexion of our primitives."

My vision of Elysium instantly transitions to a different one. The first thing I see in my next vision is a someone riding horse charging in front of me where I stand. I spontaneously dodge away from the charging horse as it passes. The next thing I see is some sort of medieval battlefield. Fueled with soldiers in medieval battle armor dueling each other with swords and shields. I could even see soldiers slashing other soldiers with swords on horsebacks and archers mowing down people with arrows. Something you'd see out of Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or Game of Thrones. What the hell was I doing in the middle of a fantasy-like battlefield?

"These were the first conflicts of quantum warfare, traveler," said Chronos standing in the middle of the war zone as I was. "This was the desire for power enthralled by St. Loomis. A war that raged on throughout the third crusade via corruption of the St. Loomis order."

I transition to another vision of mine. This time, I'm back at the lighthouse again. I'm precisely on the very cliff where I see the tornado again closing in on Arcadia Bay. The storm that started it all. The very first vision I had when my origin story all began. How many time did have to rehash this catastrophe in order to wrap my head around together? What was I being brought back here now for the thousandth time?

"This was your conflict, traveler," said Chronos standing next to me on the cliff. "A conflict you trusted was held liable by none other than your own motivation. Hundreds perished in a matter of such catastrophe. But do you believe this catastrophe was brought upon yourself, traveler? That is where your wrong."

"What are you saying?" I ask confusingly. "Why are you showing me all this? What do you mean I'm wrong!?"

"There are many things to prepare your mind for in order to prepare yourself for the arrival, Max. To prepare yourself for the end of time. Unfortunately, the fallen will guide you to your answers."

I transition back to the dark frozen woodlands again. All alone in the snowy forest. What the hell have I been doing here? Quantum warfare? The arrival? The fallen? What did all this stuff mean? The explanations from Chronos were too minimal to grasp. The ghost of Nathan Prescott reappeared in front of me. Assuming what he was going to say was worth it.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I break your concentration?" asked Nathan. "Or was I told I had to explain everything myself? Is that right?"

"First of all, I've been demanding a lot of explaining since I got here," I said. "Second, why do you have to be the one to explain everything yourself? Third, why do we have to quote movies before saying anything? Just tell me what the fuck is going on already."

"Patience, Max. I'll tell you what the fuck is going on already. Let's just say there are some things about my past I could never explain when I was still alive. Some things I'm not proud of. Not even my family is."

"Like what, Nathan? Like drugging girls to death in a Dark Room with Mr. Jeffershit?"

"It's beyond that, Max. Way beyond that. It goes back to when that Order of St. Loomis crap all started back during the third crusade where my family legacy all began."

"Your family's legacy is that old? How?"

"My family's name was once Loomis. Before it was changed to Prescott. Changing it to Prescott was a way to abandon the order after it was conquered. It's a long story after that. The point I'm trying to get to is the our legacy has history of all this time travel stuff. About the discovery of time powers. The kind of power that you right now. After my Dad founded Chrysalis with Crosby, my family was under the leverage of terrorist."

"Terrorist? What terrorist? What do you mean?"

"About two years after Chrysalis was founded, a terrorist organ was founded countering the same resources Chrysalis has. These terrorist called themselves Neo-Chrysalis."

"Neo-Chrysalis? Your family knew about them?"

"They didn't just know about them. They secretly worked with them, too?"

"Your family worked for them? Why would they work for terrorist?"

"They didn't want to work for them, Max. They were forced to. My Dad had made a deal with them in order to protect the family. To protect me. Since then, Neo-Chrysalis had been pawning my family for years. Over the years, people have called my family evil, power-hungry, malicious, you name it. It's not our fault, Max. We're not bad people. My Dad did everything he could to take pride in bringing balance and order to Arcadia Bay for the greater good. Yet the corruption these terrorist brought to family too great for them to sustain."

"What about the Dark Room? Didn't your family have something to do with that?"

"Yeah, they did. In fact, Neo-Chrysalis was the one who made them build it all. And Jefferson too."

"Jefferson, huh? He get involved with Neo-Chrysalis too?"

"Yeah, he did. It was never about his stupid artsy porn. He was more than just a pedophile. He was kidnapping his own students for these terrorist to find someone with powers like yours. When he was coming after you, that's when he was suspecting you had powers."

"So your family is taken hostage by terrorist for years and Jefferson kidnaps a bunch of girls including Rachel, Kate, and me for the interest of terrorist? Why?"

"I don't know, Max. They only believed that a young female someplace in the state of Oregon could have those special powers and whoever did could be a threat to their plan or something. In fact, that's where I start telling you about the whole storm thing. They had this plan about this end of time sort of thing. That when it came, they would somehow destroy the world by saving the world from the end of time. And where the tornado comes in, they orchestrated that storm, Max. They not only used it as a set for you, but also as distraction to keep people from knowing about their plan with the end of time. That is why they set you up."

"So these terrorist orchestrate one disaster in order to distract people from another? How did they create that storm Nathan? How did it really come to be?"

"I really don't want to say it, Max, but...but..."

"But what?"

"I'm the one who helped them construct that storm, Max. It was never your powers that did it. It was me."

"Really? It was you? You made that storm happen? How?"

"During that week you busted me for that gun in the bathroom, before I was killed by Jefferson, they wanted me to perform these storm rituals that were performed by the St. Loomis order. That's what made Neo-Chrysalis interested in using my family for so many years."

"And how did you perform these rituals? Where did you perform these rituals?"

"I did it all in my dorm room. Starting the night before that incident with me and Chloe. Phase one, death from above. Birds stop flying, snow starts falling. Phase two, two suns collide. Two suns make an eclipse. Phase three, death from below. Whales stop swimming and die on the surface. Phase four, two moons collide. Two moons make an eclipse. Phase five, the storm arrives. A tornado emerges. Arcadia Bay is purged into genocide. That is how the ritual goes."

Of course, everything weird I had been seeing throughout 'that' week. The dead birds in Chloe's lawn and the snowfall during day one of my reunion with Chloe. The sun eclipse I had seen with Warren after my chat with Principle Wells about the roof incident with Kate. The dead whales that drifted on the shores of Arcadia. The moon eclipse I saw with Chloe at the 'End of the World' party. Everything I had witnessed before the tip of the iceberg. All because of Neo-Chrysalis using Nathan?

Then there's Nathan's message on the phone I received after being rescued by David from the Dark Room. Explains how he knew the storm was coming. It wasn't just visions of the storm he was seeing for himself. He actually helped construct the storm for terrorist. It's just like a Shyamalan movie twist. The sixth sense of my life. Whoopty doo.

"So there you have it, Max," said Nathan. "It wasn't your fault. It was mine. Other than that, your on your own. Now you get to talk to Chronos again. Nice talking to you."

I'm transitioned out of the forest again and to yet another vision yet to visit. And this time, I was back in the streets of Portland again where Chrysalis headquarters was located and a wormhole was above the building. Revisiting another vision I first came across back in Seattle during my visit to my parents' house. Of course, I had hear Chronos's voice again like before.

"You have now learned the truth beyond the storm, Max," the time God said standing like a statue in the middle of the plaza. "But you still must learn more about the end of time. When that day comes, you shall be prepared."

At last, I wake up back in my cell again and snap back to reality. In my shitty ass cell. I want to go home. Back to Arcadia Bay. No more quantum terrorist bullshit. No more end of time bullshit. Even if I still need to wrap my head around that matter, all I want more than anything in this world is to win this fucking case so I could go home and stay with my beloved blue angel again. My butterfly winged angel again. The love of my life again.

Just once in my life, something good to happen to me and never look back at my sorrowful life again. Ever. And I mean ever. In that case, I'd do anything to just wake up next to Chloe in the morning again. Just once. If only her and Rachel understood as much as I did, maybe I'd have a better chance at winning this.

Maybe.

 **Note: There's your Revelations chapter folks. Forgive my if it was a little half-assed, but the good news is, there's only one more chapter left before I end this episode. Just want you all to know that I'll be posting this chapter as my Valentine's Day gift to you all. Also want you to know that there just some things in my life that I'd like to do also. Whether it's important or unimportant. Like school and video games. You know what I mean. LOL Just another reason or excuse I'd like to get all my chapters and episodes done and over with ASAP.**

 **Until next time, stay gold and Happy Valentine's Day!**

 **P.S. Your my Valentine, Xemtlenc! (Forgive me if that grosses you out.) Just for being my favorite follower on this site, you deserve all the love you can get from me. Piece!**


	14. Forget the Horror Here

Chapter 14 Part 1 Drugged

Rachel

April 21st, 2013

7:52 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Blackwell Academy

I make my way over to the girls bathroom in the gym building a quickly as I can. My body feels dizzy and weary when I rush inside. What was in the drink I was served when I drank with Nathan? Did Nathan drug my drink when Jefferson stalled me over? If so, why would he? And why would Jefferson stall me before I could take my first sip?

I balance myself on a sink in the bathroom. I look myself in the mirror as my vision goes blurry. I feel like I want to pass out. What was I just drugged with? I must've of taken a does of roofies or something when I drank with Nathan. Maybe it was Nathan who slipped a roofie in my drink when Jefferson stalled me. Just why would Nathan roofie me at a Vortex Club party? Why?

I slip to the ground on the dirty bathroom floor like a person having a heart attack. My hands break my fall as I collapse. I can no longer fight the drug I was drugged with. Now my blurry vision made me go completely blind as I had reached the final stage of my drugged state. At last, my eyes shut down my vision into blackness and I fall completely to the ground. Having fully reached my unconscious state.

A person enters the bathroom as an orange light beams through the opening door projecting the person's shadow onto my sedated body. When the man enters the room and overlooks myself, the door slowly shuts as the light ray slowly dims down until the door is completely closed. Darkening the room I lye down in. Leaving me with the person initiating my abduction.

And I bet you know who.

Chapter 14 Forget the Horror Here

Max

April 18th, 2014

9:15 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Arcadia Bay Courthouse

Today was the day I took the stand for my behalf on this trial. Outside the courthouse, people were still crowding the front of the justice building waving picket signs in the air and shouting out "Kill Max" or "Free Max" as loud as a thousand African felines. Those who wanted me dead sided with the Prescotts and Chrysalis. Those who wanted me freed sided with Blackwell and others who agreed otherwise. A majority of the "Free Max" side were Blackwell attendees and employees. A majority of the "Kill Max" side were undoubtedly victims of those who lost they're friends and families to the quantum terrorism cause tornado storm. You get the idea.

I sit there on the stand in court dressed in a jacket in gown just to subordinate to testimony regulations, but still hand cuffed when taking the stand. Crosby stood there in front of me to support my testimony in my defense. And just to add a little more icing on the cake, Victoria had brought some old friends of ours from Blackwell to step inside the courtroom and hold up a few signs for me saying "Max is our everyday hero. Not a terrorist." or "Give Max freedom or give her death."

In the crowd behind the gallery who were holding signs for me were a few familiar face from school. There were some of my friends such as, Warren, Kate, Brooke, Stella, Daniel, and Alyssa. As well as Victoria's Vortex gang which included herself, Taylor, Courtney, Dana, Juliet, Hayden, Logan, and Zachary. Even Ms. Grant and Samuel surprisingly stepped in as well. It was Chloe who recommended to Victoria the other day the she'd bring some old friends into the courtroom to bring about their hope and compassion for me winning my trial. Rest assured, the bigger the compassion, the better the hope.

"Ms. Caulfield, you have been charged of multiple federal crimes," began Crosby. "Acts of quantum terrorism resulting in the manslaughter of over six-hundred civilians of Arcadia Bay and forty-five Chrysalis security troops. Despite having to be called a terrorist manifesting a twister storm into town until now, every witness having close relationships with you who had taken this stand has compensated you otherwise."

I prepare myself to answer Crosby's questions sitting on this stand. Waiting for them to be spat out so I can spit what I need to say to this court. The problem still remained to me. What should I say in court? That it was okay for me to slaughter hundreds of innocents to protect my precious punk? That it was okay for me to machine gun down a bunch of Chrysalis henchmen to save my own ass? Or would I same thing Chloe had said when she was testified on this stand? If Crosby's questions related to 'that' week of course. It would just be the same kind of testimony Chloe was given.

"If I must question on behalf of your own perspective, Ms. Caulfield," continued Crosby. "What happened that day? The day you were first given your powers that granted the mercy of your friend Chloe."

Just as I thought he'd ask. I understood the jury wanted my POV, but all that Crosby was doing was rehashing Chloe's testimony. I thought back to my vision I had the previous night before I could answer. Where Nathan's ghost revealed the truth behind his motives on 'that' week and beyond. Unfortunately, I couldn't just tell the court I had a bad dream. It would not only not relate to Crosby's question, but Karen would probably object to the judge if my answers weren't based on reality instead of imagination.

"It's okay, Max," said Crosby. "I know it's difficult. Just please be noted that you are under oath as you speak."

I gulp and take a breath before opening my mouth. And without any more hesitating, I directly start answering Crosby's question. But I do more than just that.

As I'm being testified, I begin talking about that whole week again almost the same way Chloe had. Only from my POV and not hers. The bathroom incident, the rise and fall of Kate Marsh, the alternate reality of a life Chloe never lived, the Dark Room, all the way until the most touching moment of my life between me and Chloe when we had stood on that very cliff we watched everyone die. Like Princess Leia watching her home planet of Alderaan being destroyed. At least I didn't break down the way Chloe did at the last part. But I did shed a least one tear at the very least when I did.

"Saving her friend from being murdered in a restroom, ladies and gentlemen of the jury." said Crosby turning over to the jury. "Saving her other friend from suicide, preventing the death of William Price setting up an alternate reality where Ms. Price goes into a senile state, and discovering the fate of Rachel Amber in order to denounce the crimes of Mark Jefferson. What could any of that have to do with quantum terrorism? The answer: none. Even if Max's power had caused a twister to be summoned onto Arcadia Bay, she had done absolutely nothing to plot any quantum terrorism acts. Even if Max could've traded in her one beloved individual for ours, there are some sacrifices that go inequitable. Ask yourselves, would you have made the same choice discriminating the greater good for your own self-optimism as Max Caulfield had? If any of you had her power, would have believed it to have greatly effected a natural massacre? I'm not saying Max had every right to her mutiny for self-interest, I'm saying that as long as those questions remain, you all still have one goal to achieve. And that goal is to determine the rightful verdict for Caulfield herself for as long as this trial last. Indeed it is."

In the blink of an eye, a thought came to me. A thought that may be convincing to this court for as long as this trial stood. A thought they may show this court what it means to be a time traveling who has dealt with so much uncertainty and indecision. I didn't expect it to discriminate my actions, but I at least hoped for any sympathy or providence from this court. I don't wait another second to delay my opportunity to say this out loud. So I do this immediately and instantly. Now over never.

"Your honor, I have something to say to this court," I say to the judge. "May I?"

"As you please, Ms. Caulfield," granted the judge.

"How would any of you feel if you woke up in the morning and saw the one person you needed the most in the world who you've abandoned for years die in front of you? Deeply regretting you left him or her for so many years. Knowing that one person never got to see you again before death. I know how I would've felt if not for my power. That is when I was given this gift. A gift I didn't ask for, but was proud for having it in the end. When I had to chose who to sacrifice for whatever optimism, Chloe never asked to be saved. But I had saved her anyways knowing we had a longer life to live. As matter a fact, I wasn't the only person that deserved her alive. Even her own family, Joyce and David, deserve her alive just as well as I do. Chloe is young woman, her of all people, that deserves far more better than dying in a filthy ass bathroom."

"Language," interrupted the judge.

"You think I'm the criminal master mind behind the storm," I continue. "Your deluding yourselves. I'm the real victim of the storm. We're all victims of the storm. Including myself. I may not be a victim of someone I lost to that storm, but rather a victim forced to forget the horror here. You can call it selfishness, you call it mutiny, you call it whatever you like for caring about nobody but myself and Chloe. But I call it a circus and charade to call a young and innocent teenager the destroyer of Arcadia Bay. I will swear on my life that I did not make that storm happen. I know that doesn't say a lot, but maybe this will. The more you love someone, the deeper the tragedy. And as deep as the tragedy will get, it will destroy you."

Everyone in the courtroom falls silent. Everyone stares at me in great notoriousness as words continue to construct my speech. Not even my prosecutors intervened to object. Not a soul could be heard. But they were faces in the room that were instantly invested in my speech from the second I started speaking it out. Including the faces of people I knew dearest in Arcadia Bay. My parents, Joyce and David, Warren, Kate, Victoria, everyone else I knew at Blackwell, and Chloe were all locked onto my speech.

* * *

The crowd outside the courthouse continued their insurrection for my freedom or my absolution. Every fist pump they made and picket sign in the air were a sign of Arcadia Bay's insurgency for not only my indecision of my trial, but for it's far cry from being released from Chrysalis's power that I had brought upon to this town.

"But we can destroy it," I continue. "We can all prevent our tragedies if you do just one thing. And one thing only. The only reason Chloe has ever lived until now is because of my power and none of you may not receive my power that has kept Chloe alive. So if any one of you are to do whatever it takes to keep the ones you love alive, be committed to now. Do not wait until the day comes when they won't be. Do so now! And if you're not around to keep the people you care about alive, do whatever it takes to let them know you still care. Send them postcards, letters, flowers, whatever it takes to make sure they know you still care. That way they would be better off dying knowing you still cared than dying still feeling abandoned having never seen you again. Which is exactly what could've happened to Chloe if it weren't for my power."

* * *

Back at Rachel's lodge, Rachel sat down by the pier on the lakeside of her lodge taking a morning smoke of her weed. Frank had shown up again at her doorstep to check on her again. He had seen his girlfriend by the pier in the morning sunlight having a smoke of weed. Frank walked outside to the pier to sit next to Rachel. She noticed her boyfriend walk outside has he approached her. Fugitive or no fugitive, Rachel still cared about Frank. And Frank still cared about Rachel.

"I'm not sorry for what I did to everyone in Arcadia," I still continued. "I'm sorry for just not seeing it sooner. If I had known that my powers would cause what happened six months ago, if they caused what happened six months ago, I would've never have over-indulged my power from the very beginning. Maybe I could've prevented the deaths of all those hundreds innocents. Let alone not have to sacrifice the one person who means everything to me. No one reads a novel so that they could start from the first chapter again before finishing the last. After everything I did to keep Chloe alive that week, I knew I wasn't going to take that route. Even if more people could just live in this town as opposed to her."

* * *

The people outside the courthouse continuously prevailed shouting the words "Free Max" or "Kill Max". As they all prevailed, it made them all cheerleaders to both side of this trial compared to protesters against it. Hope ran deep with so much struggle for Arcadia Bay. It was the spark of great unity for the people. A crescendo of corruption versus redemption. And a forgotten horror here.

"Without tragedy, there can be no affection. Without limits, there can be no power. Crosby once said to this court that this trial is more than about quantum terrorism. That it is about the real reason why people like me have this power and why I was given it in the first place. Which is exactly what I have been telling you now."

* * *

Rachel had given Frank her pot to smoke. She had asked him if he wanted one and he took it. Rachel turned to her boyfriend sitting next to her on the pier and smiled at him. Frank turned his head to Rachel and smiled back. They both gazed upon the lakeside in the morning sun like a happy couple. Understanding that even though they had ceased to be together for over a year, they have always loved one another. And they always will.

"How far will go to make due with your loved ones and collectively show them your love and friendship? No matter how far you go, what will you do when you lose them? What will you become when you lose them forever? I know what Chloe became when she lost her Father years ago before I moved away. Her of all people knows much losing the most important person in your life changes your life forever. I alone was able to relate to that matter when I almost lost Chloe. And now, she is still living for me. Even now as I take this stand, I'd do anything to keep her alive until the end of time. For all time. Despite how many deaths I made her cheat, nobody can have nine lives. Not even her. If I'm to do whatever it takes to keep her alive, she will live for as long as I do. How many more deaths will I make her cheat? The answer is...not - one - more."

The crowd in the gallery begins to have a reaction to every word I say in my speech. Becoming almost as epic as Bill Pullman's speech in Independence Day. There are loud murmurs being spoken across the courtroom with every reaction I receive. The judge slams his gavel and call out order to the court in the middle of it all. Now I appear to have gotten everyone's attention. I even spot some of my Blackwell friends root for me and shout "You tell em, Max!" at me. The people of Arcadia Bay will now know who I really am.

"Bottom line, I know what I did. I know who I am. If I'm anything, I am not a terrorist. I'm only an innocent teenager in the wrong place only trying to make a difference. And one of those differences isn't destroying a town for my own self-interest. Because I know it wasn't my storm and I know my powers did not do what people think it did. Every man, women, and child has a right for themselves and for others. We let go of everything and never look back at the horror here. All that will matter to us is that we stop living in the past and keep moving forward into a greater future. A future you all deserve as one. Even if your actions could be self-centered to others, make no mistake, you do what is right for that person who means the world to you. That is what I had done for Chloe six months ago knowing she means the world to me. That is what this trial is all about."

I glance at Crosby, still standing next to the jury, who has his hands folded and gives me a vivid smile. I also glance over to the entire crowd of people in the courtroom. Including my Blackwell companions who stand up for me at the other of the room. The all give me warm smiles while some of them behave like cheerleaders. By now, I might as well have rallied up everyone in the gallery to be my cheerleader. The judge slams his gavel again to quell down excited crowd, but it chooses to insubordinate the judges orders anyways. I half expected Karen to stand up and object to the judge discouraging my speech, but that doesn't happen either. Can't blame her. I must wonder how the Prescotts feel about my speech as well.

I catch a quick glimpse of Chloe's parents and my parents reacting to speech. They all had ecstatic looks on their faces. A little bit in shock and awe perhaps. Then I glance over to Chloe. Sitting at the defense table. Smiling and nodding at me like I'm doing nothing wrong. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not.

"My name is Maxine Emily Caulfield, and I shall tell everyone in this court to go fourth, do the right thing to prevent the wrong, and to bring the hope to the good people of Arcadia Bay. From this moment forward, we will tell ourselves, life is hard. Life is unfair. Life is strange."

 **End of Episode 4!**

 **Note: Will Max Caulfield earn her freedom? Will Chloe and Rachel finally uncover the truth between Neo-Chrysalis and the storm? Tune in next time to fine out in Life is Strange Season 2 Episode 5 Project Elysium!**

 **After working so hard to make Max's epic speech at the end as perfectly written as possible, I finally put episode for to a close. I've also been falling a little behind in school and had to catch up on that too. Another thing, I've decided to start replaying the whole Mass Effect trilogy before the upcoming Mass Effect Andromeda coming next Month. Which I'm hella excited for. LOL**

 **Also want to give my readers a heads up that the following episode will be a little longer of an episode than the previous. Like season one's second to last episode being the longest, episode five of my fan fiction season two will be the same. Just like season one right?**

 **Until next time, STAY GOLDEN!**

 **P.S. For some reason, I couldn't find out what Max's middle name is. So I made one up. If that's cool with everyone. Piece!**

 **"Way Down We Go" - Kaleo**

 **Life is Strange After the Storm**

 **Episode 4 Time Trial**

 **Voice Cast**

 **Max Caulfield... ...Hannah Telle**

 **Chloe Price... ...Ashly Burch**

 **Rachel Amber... ...Erin Yvette**

 **Warren Graham... ...Carlos Luna**

 **Nathan Prescott... ...Nik Shriner**

 **Kate Marsh... ...Dayeanne Hutton**

 **Victoria Chase... ...Dani Knights**

 **Joyce Price... ...Cissy Jones**

 **David Madsen... ...Don McManus**

 **Vanessa Caulfield... ...Misty Lee**

 **Ryan Caulfield... ...Adam Harrington**

 **Frank Bowers... ...Daniel Bonjour**

 **Mark Jefferson... ...Derek Phillips**

 **Derrick Crosby... ...Peter Jessop**

 **Sean Prescott... ...Keith Szarabajka**

 **Raymond Wells... ...Eric Morgan Stuart**

 **Karen Carter... ...Rebecca Henderson**

 **Clayton Cage... ...Chris Fries**

 **Riley O'Donohue... ...Philip Anthony-Rodriguez**

 **Kristine Prescott... ...Laura Bailey**

 **Secretary Brown... ...Claudia Christian**

 **Sebian Sorenson... ...Dwight Schultz**

 **Chronos... ...Keith Szarabajka**

 **Written and Edited by**

 **WickDaLine**

 **Based on the Characters by**

 **Christine Divine**

 **Music by**

 **Jonathan Morali**

 **Soundtrack**

 **Strobe (Club Mix) - Deadmau5**

 **Soffi Needs A Latter - Deadmau5**

 **Sexy Chick - David Guetta**

 **Party Rock - LMFAO**

 **Heartless - Kayne West**

 **Angel - The xx**

 **Way Down We Go - Kaleo**

 **Special Thanks**

 **Dontnod**

 **Michel Koch**

 **Luc Baghadoust**

 **Christian Devine**

 **Hannah Telle**

 **Ashly Burch**

 **Xentlenc**

 **and you!**

 **Disclaimer**

 **I don't own anything. All rights and property go to Square Enix and Dontnod Entertainment. Thank you.**


End file.
